The Sky is the Limit
by Shae Rosa
Summary: Skye Hampton has lived a happy, ordinary life in Mystic Falls. But everything changed when the vampires attacked. With enemies of all ages and species coming to Mystic Falls with their own goals in mind, how will Skye - a supposedly normal human - cope? Especially once she starts having visions from the past...
1. Chapter 1 - First Day Back

**Hey there! Quick author's note, I have no idea what I'm doing with this website aka wattpad was my method of writing up until now where I have decided to upgrade, and I am also doing this spur of the moment kind of thing. As in...planning? Who is she? I haven't really seen the actual vampire diaries show in a hot minute but hey, with all the fanfiction I've read about it how hard can it be to remember the plot? Also, I'm from the UK so if I mess up on any American lingo then lmao I'm sorry.**

**Feel free to tell me how much of a mess this is or eventually will be, I highly appreciate it ^.^ Also, I'm trying a new style of writing? Let me know if it's enjoyable or shit? Listen, this is permission to just go off in the reviews #plsroastme x**

**In any case, I hope you enjoy!**

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8:00 am

Whoever decided that school should start this early really didn't take into consideration that I and the majority of the youth in this nation are not about this life. Did not miss getting up at 6 am at all...

It is during my walk to my locker that, mid-yawn, I feel my ponytail being pulled and ultimately yanking me backwards.

"Oi!"

"Morning, sleepyhead." says the one and only Tyler Lockwood, grinning down at me. Ah, this boy, what can I say about him? Well, ever since we got paired up to dance together for one of Mystic Falls' many, many formal dances as mere pre-teens, dancing our way to the hearts of our adoring fans, we became inseparable. It's good for the image our mother's want us to portray in this town, so we ended up spending a lot of time together over many summers.

"It's too early for this, my dude," I say, yawning again for emphasis.

"Aw, come on." he says, "Aren't you excited for the first day back at school? And what about your favourite class, what was it you called it last time? Tanner Time!"

Groaning, I smacked my head against my locker as we reached it. "God, I hope he doesn't remember that. I got dragged sooo hard for that last year. I'm pretty sure the reason I almost failed that class is because of that comment!"

Yeaah, Tanner and I left things on not the best of terms last semester. You know, you ask for a little consideration, a little bit of a hand with the work because you don't understand something fully, and then get completely eradicated in front of _everyone_. I normally don't feel embarrassed, but that day I had never gone so red. So yeah, coining the term "Tannered" and "Tanner Time" got around the school real quick, and of course he wasn't happy when he heard and well...I'm sure you can imagine how my marks were treated (hint: poorly).

My locker was as messy as it was when I left it last year, I don't know why I thought it would miraculously be neat and clean after months away but here we are, still disappointed. Tyler was struggling to open up his locker once more, it always was a bit jammed, and ends up hitting it hard enough for it to fall open.

Looking around the halls for a tall, blonde boy, I come up empty. "Have you seen Matt yet?" I asked.

"Not yet, why?" Tyler said.

"Well, first day back at school since him and Elena...you know," I said, beating round the bush. Not something I usually do, but it's still a sensitive subject for the student population.

You could practically see the wheels working in his head as the realisation slowly hit. "Oh yeah...man, this is gonna be a rough day, huh?"

"Yeah, for both of them."

A quick recap is in order I think. So, over the summer our good friends Matt and Elena who had been dating since what felt like forever broke up. It was a shock to everyone really, Matt especially. But that couldn't prepare anyone for came after...

I take a deep breath and take out a half-empty energy drink from my locker, and finish it off. Hopefully, despite it being flat, it will keep me awake for the rest of the day. "Okay," I say, slamming my locker shut, "You go check on Matt, I'll go check on Elena, and we can hopefully make sure our friends are as good as they can be."

"Sounds good." Tyler agrees, checking his phone, "I'll see you later."

"Catch you later!"

And then we walked in the same direction.

"Later has gotten a lot shorter since I last checked."

"Oh, shut up." I laughed.

We did end up parting ways, but, unfortunately, it seemed like we were too late. Matt was looking dejected by his locker and I could see one Caroline Forbes going past us at a rapid speed, incoming towards Elena and Bonnie. Probably not the best first thing on this stressful morning for one Elena Gilbert. I promptly decided to leave Tyler to go comfort our boy Matt and join the girls. I can check in with Matt in class later.

"Hey, guys!" I greeted, interrupting the very caring but very coddling Caroline.

"Skye!" Caroline greets, throwing her arms around me. I can't help but laugh when she flings herself at me. This is the kind of reaction I loved and missed from her. "It's been so long! You missed so much, how was Canada?"

"It was great, loved seeing my family, all that jazz," I said, unable to stop smiling at her. "We only got back a couple of days ago, so I'm sorry for my absence but no fear! I have returned!"

"Hooray, what would we do without you," Bonnie says, bringing herself into a hug with a smile.

"You'd be too bored, Bon. And you know it." I say, pulling away to face the last of the group.

Elena smiles sheepishly. "Hey, Skye."

I shake my head and say "None of this now, come on bring it in." I wrap my arms around the girl quite easily considering she is a twig. I wonder if she's been eating properly. "I'm sorry I wasn't here for you over the summer, if you need anything now though, I'm here for you."

"Thanks, Skye."

"Aw, group hug!"

"Caroline!"

And it's days like these which I look back upon, wondering when things got so complicated. And then I remember, it all started with _the back_.

"I'm sorry, you're a what now?"

"A witch, or so my grams says," Bonnie replies, promptly stopping us in front of the office before she can properly explain what she means by a witch. "Hold on, who's this?"

Elena and I look in and there stands a guy with his back facing us. Leather jacket, some jeans, fresh haircut and is that sunglasses? Indoors? Oh hell no.

"All I see is back." Elena shrugs.

"That's a hot back." Bonnie insists.

"The guy's wearing shades indoors, not so hot," I say, shaking my head, arms crossed over my chest.

"Oh come on," Bonnie says rolling her eyes, "It's a sunny day."

Now it's my turn to roll my eyes. "Yeah, outdoors. Anyone who wears sunglasses indoors is either blind or a creep, and only one of those things is okay."

Out of the corner of my eye, I see the pair share a glance. "I'm sensing Seattle," Bonnie says confidently, staring this poor guy down. "And he plays the guitar."

Elena laughs, "You're really gonna run this whole psychic thing into the ground, huh?"

"Pretty much."

And then Elena's smile drops. I glance behind me, as I'm not completely absorbed in this guy's back, and see Jeremy Gilbert, Elena's little brother, making his way to the bathroom in a pretty shady fashion. Oh boy. "I'll be right back," she says, taking off without second thought. I watch as she then goes into the boy's bathroom! Okay, even I haven't had the balls to try that, mainly because I have no interest seeing anybody else's junk.

Bonnie, meanwhile, is pretty much hypnotised by this dude's back. "Come on," she says, almost pleading, "Please be hot."

"Five dollars says he's a creep." I nudge her teasingly, making her nudge me back in the same manner.

And then he turns around.

And it was at that moment...

...I lost five bucks.

"Well," I say as he walks by us and down the hall, "shit."

Bonnie spins on me so fast, a grin spreading on her face. "Pay up! Oh my god, did you see him? And you said he was going to be a creep!"

"Hey, hey, hey, he still could be," I say, grabbing my purse from my bag and handing her five bucks. "You can be hot and a creep at the same time. Man was wearing shades indoors, I don't trust him."

"Oh, come on," she says, linking my arm with hers and dragging me to our first class.

Unfortunately, it isn't long until it's Tanner Time. And that includes both Matt and Tyler chanting behind me "Tanner time! Tanner time!" on the walk to his class. To be honest, despite the idiocy I'm having to stand right now, I'm glad Matt has cheered up enough to be able to royally piss me off.

"Will you two knock it off?" I glare, rounding on them, making them grin and not deterring their act at all. "Come on, his classroom is right there, please don't remind him of - "

"Tanner time! Tanner time!"

"I'm gonna end myself."

Thankfully they stopped right before we walked in, sniggering at my expression. I took my seat next to them up at the back and, speaking of backs, realised that the new 'back boy' was sitting in front of me. Huh, he's kind of tall. This is gonna be a hard year to see the board but at least it gives me a decent cover from Tanner. Hopefully.

"Welcome back students," the man himself says, and it's at this moment I'm praying that he has forgotten what happened last semester. "I'm sure you have had a relaxing summer but it is time to get back to business." And here I thought I was in the clear "Or, as some of you called it," Nevermind. "Tanner Time." I was wrong.

Thud!

Oh, that's the sound my head made when I hit it on my desk as many of my fellow students sniggered, trying to stifle their laughs. Some were successful, you can imagine neither Matt nor Tyler were among them. First day back and already I felt like I had been Tannererd. Not a great start to the year. But class began, and Tyler and I were exchanging notes, playing tic-tac-toe to pass the time. So far, I had won almost every game, except the ones we had drawn on. And he was not happy about it.

"... the battle of willow creek took place at the end of the war in our very own Mystic Falls. How many casualties resulted in this battle?" Tanner asked and oh boy he's gonna start picking on people, isn't he? "Miss Bennett." Go on Bonnie, do us proud.

"Um." Nevermind. "A lot. Like, a whole lot."

People around us are smiling or sniggering at the response, and I can't help but shrug in a half-agreement because technically she isn't wrong. Unfortunately, this isn't good enough for Tanner.

"Cute becomes dumb in an instant," he says, making me wince. "Mr Donovan," and Matt wakes up from his mini-nap. "Would you like to take this opportunity to overcome your jock stereotype?"

Matt, ever the charmer, responds with, "It's okay, Mr Tanner. I'm cool with it."

"Good for you, stay true to who you are," I say quietly, in my most motivational tone. While this may be amusing for the few of us up the back, Tanner doesn't seem to appreciate my humour if that look he's giving me is anything to go by. "Ugh oh..."

"Ms Hampton. Care to venture a guess?"

"Well," I start, putting on my most confident-sounding voice, making Tyler snigger beside me because I am most certainly not confident at all right now, "Firstly, I believe Miss Bennett was technically correct in her answer and should, therefore, be given a half-point at the very least."

"Not happening," Tanner said, unamused.

"And secondly, if you want me to guess then that means you don't think I know the answer. However, did it ever occur to you that maybe I do know the answer?" I tell him, and if I can keep this up for another five or ten minutes then maybe he'll forget to hand out any homework. "Did you ever think that maybe, just maybe, you have underestimated me all these years? That perhaps I was just playing the fool so you would let your guard down?"

Tanner rolls his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. "Get to the point, Ms Hampton."

"I believe the issue here does not, in fact, lie in the question you have just presented but in how many times you have underestimated me, underestimated us, the students you claim to care about!" I speak clearly and begin to rise from my seat, drawing the eyes of everyone in the class. Back Boy seems very confused by it all, but everyone else looks amused, and this fuels me. I see Tyler and Matt silently losing it beside me, Elena and Bonnie sniggering with each other, and Caroline slyly hiding her phone under the table. Ah, evidence for later. Fantastic. "And another thing - "

"That's enough."

"The students of Mystic Falls shall not be silenced by the underestimation of man!" I declare.

"The students of Mystic Falls shall be given detention if they don't sit down."

And so I sit.

Tanner, looking quite fed up despite it still only being the first day of high school, sighs and turns to the rest of the class. "Elena, surely you can enlighten about one of the town's significantly historical events?"

Elena shakes her head, and I can tell despite not being able to see her face completely that she is very uncomfortable in the spotlight. "I'm sorry, I don't know."

Again, this isn't good enough for Tanner as he goes on to say, "I was willing to be lenient last year for obvious reasons, Elena, but the personal excuses ended with summer break."

My jaw drops, and I share shocked glances with Tyler and Matt who also look like they've been punched in the face. He did not just say that. Surely we must have been mishearing? Tanner is a dick but he honestly didn't just say something like that, in front of everyone as well.

"What the hell?" I mouth.

And then, for the first time today, I hear Back Boy speak. "There were 346 casualties." He says. "Unless you're including local civilians."

Tanner for a moment seems shocked. "That's correct. Mister...?"

"Salvatore." Backstreet Boy replied.

"Salvatore," Tanner repeats, "Any relation here to the original settlers here in Mystic Falls?"

"Oh," he says, and I can see his back that Bonnie likes so much tensing. "Distant."

"Well, very good except of course there were no civilian casualties in this battle," Tanner says with a smug smirk and turns around, getting ready to present the next topic only to be interrupted once more.

"Actually, there were 27, sir. Confederate soldiers, they fired on the church believing it to be housing weapons." Salvatore explained sadly, "They were wrong. It was a night of great loss." I would have focused more on the way he spoke about these casualties, the way he sounded as if he may have known them or had some personal attachment to them, if he hadn't come out with, "The founders archives are stored in city hall if you want to brush up on your facts."

And for the second time that day in that class, my jaw dropped because oh my lord we just witnessed a murder. Everyone sat in shock until eventually Tyler snorted in laughter and everyone finally managed to process what we just saw.

"Tanner just got Tannered." I whispered excitedly, hitting Matt and Tyler's arms in excitement. "This is the best day at school, hands down ever!"

However, Tanner was not too pleased with getting owned, pursing his lips as he glared at Salvatore. Thankfully for everyone, the bell rang and with Tanner being too humiliated to do anything else, the class were left without homework.

Standing up, I quickly grabbed the guy before he could leave the class. "May I be the first to say, congratulations. You absolutely owned Tanner, played him at his own game, like a fiddle!"

"Get to your next class, Ms Hampton," Tanner says and I cringe, not realising he was still here.

I cringe, not realising that he's still here and listening. Salvatore seems amused by the whole ordeal and I wonder if a new friend has been acquired. Matt and Tyler have already gone on ahead, eager to get out of here rather than to their next class, so I quickly grab my bag and denim jacket and walk out with the new student.

Once we're outside of the class, I feel like it's not safe to hold out my hand and introduce myself. "I'm Skye."

"Stefan," he says, shaking my hand.

"Nice to meet you, how's your first day been?" I ask, wondering how it must feel being the newbie in a new school in such a close-knit town.

Stefan shrugs his shoulders, "It's been alright, everyone seems nice enough. Most drama I've had so far was what you just saw. And also seeing a girl walk out of the men's bathroom."

And it clicks in my mind who that must have been. "Was she just in our class? Elena?"

"Yeah," he says, his interest obviously peaked. "You know her?"

"For many, many years." I proclaim proudly. "And, for her benefit, I would just like to say that she doesn't have a habit of going into the men's bathrooms. She's just looking out for her brother. It's been kind of a rough time for them both, to say the least."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Stefan says. He's silent for a moment but I can practically hear his thoughts. He has that look in his eye whether or not he should ask what he clearly wants to ask.

I smile because I think I know what he's wondering and I can't help but think some fresh looks might help Elena to get back into the swing of things, or maybe work as a worthy distraction for a bit. "She is single by the way."

Stefan seems shocked. "Excuse me?"

"That's what you were wondering, right?" I confirmed, hoping I hadn't just royally screwed up. "Sorry, I thought you were interested in her. She's great, really. If you wanted to I could introduce you both?" And here comes the word vomit. "You know, even if you aren't interested in her like that, she's still a good friend. I could introduce to the whole group! And you know what, this town is pretty accepting of queer folk so if you wanted to I could try set you up with Tyler? I dunno if he's gay, to be honest, but he has a lot of pent up rage that I can only suspect is the pain of having to be in the closet with a homophobic father. Stop me if I'm rambling but - "

"Stop." Stefan laughs. And it isn't a loud laugh that has everyone paying attention to the joke or some funny-sounding laugh that ends up being more entertaining than the actual joke. It's gentle and it's probably at this point that this guy has become certified cinnamon roll. Sunglasses indoors has been completely forgotten, he has been forgiven for his crimes against humanity.

"Sorry," I apologise, "I tend to ramble if I'm nervous. But - " And the bell rings. "Shit, I gotta go to my next class. I'll see you later though, Stefan!"

And that was, unknowingly, my first interaction with a supernatural creature, a vampire. It certainly wasn't going to be the last either, but hey, I didn't know that at the time now, did I?

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**Word Count: 3,360  
****Proofread?: _Nope_**

**Don't forget to review!  
Let me know what you thought of this and if I should continue or not! Probably gonna continue whether you want me to or not but I enjoy the motivation, both good and bad.  
I promise things will get more interesting with more chapters but hey, gotta start somewhere!**

**Cheers folks!**


	2. Chapter 2 - Mystic Grill

**My first comment on this was a positive one? I'm shook considering how many mistakes were in that first chapter. Thank you ThePitchBlackAlchemist for that positive review though! Not a strong beginning but listen we'll get there soon. I also realised I got some of the timing mixed up but considering this is fanfiction it doesn't really matter.**

**Anyway, thanks again for that one review! Hopefully, you'll enjoy this chapter enough to review again! Or roast me if you hate it!**

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The bell rings and the first day back at school is finally over. Well, almost over. Tyler and Matt have practice and I don't really feel like walking home yet. Plus, getting bribed with discounted food at the grill is always a good way to get me to agree. And so I sit on the stands, watching the boys run laps back and forth across the football field. Despite it being the first day back, Tanner isn't going easy on them, but at least it's only a short training session today.

My sun-tanning session is promptly ruined when someone stands in front of my sun. Opening my eyes I see someone I had managed to avoid all day. Oh boy, here we go...

"Hey, Chad, how's it going?" Acting natural has worked almost never but we'll see if it works now.

"How could you, Skye?" he says and that sentence pretty much means I'm busted.

I sit up to face him properly, and also to see if there are any escape routes. None. Well then, I guess it's time to face the music. "Listen, that end of year party was crazy, you know how I get when I drink."

"I didn't think you would do that to me though, we've known each other since kindergarten," Chad says, unable to look me in the eye and also realise that I'm not the one that should be getting blamed here.

"It wasn't my fault, she came on to me!"

"Well, you should have pushed her off, reminded her she had a _boyfriend_!"

I let out a frustrated sigh, rubbing my forehead to ease the incoming headache. This is exactly what I wanted to avoid. "I. Was. Drunk! And I know that's no excuse, but it isn't my fault that she cheated on you. I'm sorry I was a part of it though. But, if there's anything else you wanna - "

Chad, fuming, seems to have heard enough and turns away. And that's the end of that conversation. The nice, sunny day that finishes the end of the first day back at school has ended on a pretty sour note. Thankfully the rest of the team has finished practice and while Tyler heads towards Vicki Donovan at the other end of the bleachers, Matt makes his way up towards me.

"You okay?" he asks, taking a seat beside me.

I shake my head, looking up at the sky as it starts to get cloudy. "I'm such an asshole."

"Chad needs to get over what happened, it takes two to tango and all that crap," Matt says, gently bumping my shoulder.

"I just," I say, pausing so my voice won't crack again, it's just puberty I promise, "I can't help but feel like it's my fault. For everything. Chad and I were friends and I let his girlfriend cheat on him with me?"

"You were drunk, you weren't in the right state of mind," Matt defends.

Sighing, I turn to him, "That doesn't make me feel less shit about myself."

"He'll get over it, and so will you, and you'll be friends again. I know it."

I smile. "Thanks, Matt. You're the best." I rest my head on his shoulder and only then remember this boy has been running in the sun for about an hour and wow he stinks. And is very sweaty "Dude, you need a shower."

* * *

The drive to the Grill is a short one thankfully because it's always a little awkward when your best friend gets booted to the backseats so your girl can ride shotgun. Yeah, you heard it here first folks, Tyler is a hoe before bro kinda guy. Not that I'm calling Vicki a hoe, she's just the one in the front seat right now. Matt and I send glances to each other, wondering when and how Vicki and Tyler started seeing each other. I've been gone all summer and this happens? Not what I expected really.

"How were your classes, Vicki?" I asked, trying to make polite conversation.

Despite being good friends with Matt, it is mostly through Tyler that our friendship grew. And considering we never went over to Matt's house, at least while I've been around, I never really got to know Vicki very well. I do know that she works at the Grill and is under quite a bit of pressure trying to raise Matt, except half the time it's Matt that's raising Vicki.

"Yeah, they were alright. All a bit of a blur thankfully. I can't stand Tanner." she says and I grin.

"He is a grade-a douchebag," I agree, reminiscing on the class with him early today. Good times. "But it's always nice to see him get put in his place, get a taste of his own medicine."

Vicki snorts, "Now that I would love to see."

"We saw it today." Tyler pipes up.

"What? No way." Vicki gapes.

"Yup," Matt says, "New guy, Salvatore something."

"Stefan," I say. "He's pretty cool."

"Tell me everything!" Vicki says and we tell her tale of Tanner getting Tannered, throwing in Matt and I's brave attempts before Stefan finished him with the final blow.

* * *

"My shift starts in five, but you guys go grab a seat and I'll be right back," Vicki says, heading behind the counter where only staff are permitted.

The three of us look around at the already busy restaurant for a place to sit. We end up grabbing one of the high seating tables which might be alright for these two but is a little more difficult for me.

"It's not our fault you're a midget, Skye," Tyler says.

"I'm not a midget!"

"Your feet can't touch the ground."

"That means nothing!" I protest, snatching a menu from him to decide what I'm going to eat. Despite having a look at the menu I know that I'm going to have the same thing I have ever time I come in. Standard burger and fries. Basic, but not boring I'll tell you that.

Matt and Tyler continue to talk about their training and what football season is looking like for them, occasionally complaining about Tanner and a couple of the other football guys, mainly the freshman who think they know what they're getting themselves in for. Vicki makes her way back over with a couple of shots on a small tray.

"Are those for us?" Tyler asks, already reaching for one. She smacks his hand lightly and passes one each to me and then Matt.

"You are driving. Now quick, before anyone sees," she says and downs hers quickly. Tyler pouts as Matt and I follow through, after glancing to make sure nobody important is looking our way. We both cringe as the taste of tequila hits. Tequila is a dangerous drink, but one shot won't kill us. "Now, what do you guys want to order?"

Each of us places our order, Matt and Tyler ordering waaay more than they probably should but hey, it's their money.

"You two seriously didn't need to get two portions of onion rings, why don't you just share?" I say to them as Vicki walks away.

"Because we always need another plate," Matt reasons.

I roll my eyes, leaning my elbows forward on the table. "Okay, but with the burger and fries and _pizza_ that is also on its way, the onion rings will get soggy. And nobody likes soggy onion rings."

"You know you're gonna have a few anyway, quit complaining," Tyler says, checking over his shoulder to the bar.

"Actually," I say proudly, "I'm cutting down on greasy foods. I wanna start losing weight." It only takes a second for Matt and Tyler to share a glance and burst out laughing. I glare at the pair of them as Tyler almost falls off his seat. "What's so funny?"

"You've never given up any kind of food in your life!" Matt laughs, continuing to do so even after I give him a hard kick.

"I went vegetarian one summer."

"Only because we made a bet that you couldn't."

"And you couldn't," Tyler said smugly.

"I did!" I disagreed, "Except for the last day but that was the big BBQ cookout, but there was no way I could be a full vegetarian for that!"

"Sure, sure. Whatever you say, Skye," Tyler says.

If it weren't for the fact that I could see our food on its way, I would have left our table there and then. But dang is the Grill's food good. We're still eating by the time Vicki is on her fifteen-minute break and after properly talking to her I have come to the conclusion that she's alright. I know her and Elena never really got along, but I think that's because of Elena breaking Matt's lil heart, but I like Vicki.

"Alright, Skye, when did you get a tattoo?" Vicki asks me when I'm mid-bite into my burger.

I blink in confusion wondering what she is talking about. I don't have a tattoo. At least, I don't remember getting a tattoo. So I tell her just that, "I don't have a tattoo."

"What's that on the back of your neck then?" She asks.

And the realisation hits. "Oh! That's my birthmark."

"That's a birthmark?"

"Yeah, the coolest birthmark ever," Matt says.

"I still think your parents tattooed or chipped you as a baby," Tyler theorises, taking another huge bite of his burger. "Because no way were you born with _that_."

_That_ thing he refers to is in fact my birthmark. Both my parents and many doctors are and will continue to be befuddled because it doesn't look like how a normal birthmark should. To start off with, it isn't a bright shade of red or anything but it is a stark white colour, looking very vibrant against my skin. It also isn't some random, blotchy shape that birthmarks usually are but is in fact in the shape of a perfect circle. A hollow circle.

Yup, I just have a white, perfect circle on the back of my neck. It is very weird.

"I was not tattooed or chipped as a baby," I tell Tyler, "But yes, I do have the coolest birthmark in the world."

"Damn," Vicki says, impressed, "It would be cool if you were tattooed as a kid though."

"Pretty sure that's illegal, Vick," Matt says.

"Yeah, but still. I wish I had more tattoos." Vicki rolls up her sleeve and shows off a simple stick-and-poke of a constellation. "Instead I have to settle for this."

"It's nice, simple," I tell her.

"I got it while I was high, he was also high," she shrugged, rolling her sleeve back down. "Real tattoos are expensive and I can't afford one."

"What would you get?"

"Probably some sort of flower," she says, leaning back on the table, "Something pretty."

"Like you?" Tyler says and I can't believe this boy.

"Shut up." Vicki grins, hitting him and walking away to get back to work, Tyler's eyes following her as she goes.

"Hey," Matt says, brother-mode turning on, "Please don't tell me you're banging my sister."

Tyler innocently shrugged, "I'm not banging your sister."

Matt and I share a glance and he sighs. "You're such a dick, man."

We continue our meal, moving away from the topic of Tyler getting together with Matt's sister, and it isn't long before Bonnie and Caroline show up. I wave them over and they pull up a couple of seats.

Conversations headed towards the interaction I had with Chad earlier, making me slightly uncomfortable as Caroline and Tyler got mad on my behalf. Nice to know they have my back, but I don't want any more drama that came from that night to start.

"Listen, he's still upset, it's fine." I look over at the pool tables and see that one just became free. "Come on, who wants a game of pool?" I ask, jumping down from the chair. Caroline and Tyler decide to join me and we decide that with Caroline's powers and mine combined, Tyler doesn't stand a chance.

"I can't believe the new guy Stefan managed to rip Tanner a new one today," Caroline said as Tyler took his shot.

"Yeah," he agreed, managing to pot one of the balls, "Was a great first day back."

"Hopefully he'll survive Tanner targeting him now," I say, lining up to take the shot.

"First Tannered, then Tanner Time, and now Tanner Targets? You're on a roll, Skye," Tyler says.

"Shut it."

"Come on, you're a comedy genius, why are you still in school?"

"Shut up, Tyler."

"Yeah," Caroline says, "Stop distracting her."

"So what do you think of the new guy, Caroline?" Tyler asks, ignoring her request to give me a moment of concentration but setting her off on a rant and oh boy.

"He is so hot!"

I take the shot and miss, glaring as the white ball falls in the hole instead. I feel bad now, realising that Caroline has a crush on the new guy and practically setting him up with Elena already before considering whether Elena actually liked him or not.

Caroline's ramble to Tyler slowly stops and I see the two of them looking towards the entrance of the Grill, seeing Elena and the man himself walking in through the doors. Well, I guess I didn't need to introduce the pair after all. I glance over to the table where Bonnie and Matt are still sitting and wondering if Matt's okay seeing this. I see him get up and shake hands with Stefan though.

This is why Matt's the best, he's the nicest boy out there. He doesn't start any of this jealous drama that you always see in media which is always annoying to watch.

We finish our game and Tyler ends up winning _again_ but he goes to grab Matt for another game while Caroline and I head over to join Bonnie, Elena and Stefan for a friendly interrogation.

"Hey guys, how's it going?" I say, sitting down beside Bonnie and Elena. "I see Bonnie has started with the interrogation but let us introduce ourselves."

Elena rolls her eyes while Stefan smiles. She says, "There's no interrogation going on, let's not scare him back out of town."

"So, Stefan," Caroline says brightly, drawing everyone's attention, "Were you from Mystic Falls originally, or?"

"I was born here but moved when I was still young. I live with my uncle now up at the boarding house."

"What about your parents?"

"My parents passed away," Stefan says, ending up glancing at Elena.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Elena says solemnly. And the way these two look at each other, it feels like I'm invisible to them like the rest of the world just doesn't exist in their little bubble. "Any siblings?"

Stefan smiles slightly, "None that I talk to."

"That's a shame," I say. "I couldn't imagine not talking that."

"Your brother hardly talks to you, though," Bonnie says.

"That's because he's 8 and addicted to videogames."

"That's some age gap." Stefan comments.

"One of us wasn't planned," I shrugged, "I'm still trying to figure out which one though."

"So Stefan," Caroline pipes up, "If you're new then you don't know about the party tomorrow."

"Yes!" I cheer loudly, throwing my arms in the air. "I'm so excited!"

"It's a back to school thing at the falls," explains Bonnie.

Stefan nods before turning back to face Elena and can this boy be any more obvious? "Will you be going?"

And before Elena can even think of a response, Bonnie and I both say, "Yes!" "Of course she is!" She sends the two of a look and smiles. In the distance I see Tyler waving over and I know that's my cue.

"It was nice spending this time with you all but I've gotta go," I say, grabbing my jacket. "I'll see you guys tomorrow for Tanner Time first thing."

"Tanner Time?" Stefan asks.

"Tanner Time!" Caroline echoes cheerfully.

"They'll explain it to you," I tell him with a grin. "See you!"

* * *

Tyler drops Matt off first, then me. We sing songs in the car the whole way, perfecting our _High School Musical_ duets, ready for that night we decide to sneak into the karaoke bar in the next town over where we will obviously become famous rockstars overnight.

I bid Tyler goodnight and head into my house. We don't exactly have a picket fence, it fell down during the last storm, but it's a nice place to call home. I notice the flowerbeds have been done and that my dad must have been working out here earlier today.

"I'm home!" I call once I'm in through the door.

I walk through the corridor which is bare besides one giant photo of my brother and me when we were younger, a clock on the wall, and a small shelve where we hold all the keys and such. I head straight for the living room where my younger brother is glued to, playing some kind of racing game.

"Sup," I say, trying to get his attention.

"Hi," he replies, his focus never leaving the giant screen.

"Where's mom and dad?"

He shrugs his shoulders, not giving a proper verbal response. This is my cue to annoy him. I walk out in front of the television screen dramatically, angling myself to block his view each time he moves.

"Oh! How terrible it is! Mother, father! Donde esta?!"

"Move! I can't see!"

"You know, Kieron, you used to love it when I got home, what changed?"

"Move!"

"I used to get hugs every time I walked through the door, and you used to be so cute."

"MOM!"

"Skye! Leave your brother alone." I hear from the kitchen.

I stick my tongue out at him, ruffling his hair before walking away. Upon entering the kitchen I see my parents sit at the dining table. My mother, hair dyed blonde but with a few grey roots showing, still as beautiful as she is in the photo the day she got married. My dad, a lot greyer than the day he got married but still refusing to leave any form of youth behind.

"I do wish you wouldn't annoy your brother like that." my mom says to me, sipping at a cup of coffee.

"I'm only playing with him."

"How was your first day back?" she decides to ask me instead of proceeding with this conversation.

"It was good," I say, going to grab a bottle of water from the fridge. "There's a new guy, his name is Stefan Salvatore, apparently related to one of the original founding families or something."

"That's interesting," my dad says. "How was everyone else?"

"Tyler is same old, so is everyone else, Elena is...putting on a brave face."

"Bless her," my mom says even though we aren't religious, "It's a sin what happened to that family. Let her know if she needs anything we're here for her."

"I will but don't expect her to actually ask for anything."

"It's the polite thing to say, don't be so rude."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry." I sigh and go through the cupboards to look for a snack. No food. Figures since we've been away all summer. "What'd yous have for dinner?"

"We had pizza, would have left you some but we thought you must have gone to the Grill if you weren't back by five." my mom says.

"We'll go proper shopping tomorrow but it'll be toast for breakfast tomorrow." my dad adds.

"Yipee." I say, "I'm gonna go do homework."

"Alright, night night."

And I head up the stairs, not without pausing to throw a sock at the back of my brother's head before rushing up the stairs two at a time to avoid getting into trouble. I enter my room and collapsed onto the bed, not really feeling like doing homework anymore. Seriously, who gives out homework first day back? It's ridiculous!

Instead, I sort through what's left to be unpacked and what needs washing, deciding what I'll wear tomorrow considering most of my clothes are in the wash still and I don't exactly want to wear the exact same pair of jeans and t-shirt like I had done today. I also pick out options for what I'll wear to the falls tomorrow. Considering it's in the middle of the woods, it's gonna be pretty casual. A shower to wash my hair so I don't need to do it in the morning makes me sleepy enough to go to bed early for the first time in a while.

But of course I somehow still end up sleeping in.

"Skye! Mom says you're gonna be late if you don't start moving!"

And I'm up like a shot.

And on my way to the bus stop, I almost get run over by the most gorgeous car I've seen in a while.

"Watch it! You don't wanna ruin this sexy beast!" I yell at the driver.

"I'm sure you would have been fine," he replies and wow okay, he's pretty hot. Black hair, leather jacket, a good taste in cars, plus he's wearing shades outdoors as he should be.

"I was talking about the car," I tell him flatly before rushing over to the bus stop where I can see the bus letting folk off, not wanting to miss it.

And this, ladies and gentlemen, was my second unknowing interaction with a supernatural creature. And the beginning of some serious drama.

* * *

**Word count: 3,752  
Proofread?: _nah_**

**Oop yup that was the other Salvatore that had a mini cameo there at the end. I didn't want their first interaction to be super generic and I thought what better way than for Skye's dumbass to almost get run over? Perfect, huh?**

**I'm getting into this a bit more now I think, personally I liked this chapter a bit better than the first but we'll see what _you_ think. That's right! You reading this have the power to tell me your opinion via that lil review button. Even if you don't have an account which I personally didn't until now you can still comment on things as a guest!**

**Yeah ik you know this pls just give me motivation #thank you!**


	3. Chapter 3 - Bonfire Night

**Wow, reviews! That seem positive! Blessed. I'll respond to those who left a review for chapter 2 on time at the end if that's okay! Thank you for actually taking the time to review though, I really appreciate it. Get a wee buzz out of reading them lmao.**

**But you wanna know something? I'm glad I ended up deciding to post this. This is by no means my best writing, v minimal effort is being put into this, but I'm having so much fun that I don't care? And I think that's the takeaway mood for this series I've begun. Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

"What do you mean you almost got run over this morning?!"

"No, Tyler, it was fine," I said to the boy on our way to our lockers. "The guy didn't actually get me, plus he was pretty hot."

"That's no excuse! He almost hit you!"

"I mean, he technically did if you count him hitting on me after."

"Skye." Tyler groans.

"What? Can't deny the people have eyes."

Compared to the shenanigans of yesterday's drama in Tanner's class, and the overall excitement of being back in school, it has been a boring day so far. The only mildly interesting thing that happened was Tyler sticking a marshmallow to the top of Chad's hat in English. Okay, so maybe it hasn't been such a bad day.

I promised Caroline I would meet up with her for lunch so she can talk and rant about the new cheerleading choreography she's planned and where she thinks everybody should be placed. Personally, I think this might be another attempt to get me to re-join. I am on the fence about it, but we'll see. I also suspect that she will want to gossip about Mystic Falls newest member. My phone buzzes in my pocket, alerting me to the fact Caroline is going to be late due to the line in the cafeteria and to go grab a seat outside somewhere. So that's where I go, with nothing better to do.

It's a clear, sunny day outside and I can't wait for it to be over because tonight is gonna be fun. I'm gonna get some opinions on what to wear from Caroline, hopefully, I'll be able to distract her from the fact Stefan is infatuated with Elena already, and make a plan for tonight.

Despite it being so sunny, lunch has only just started so I'm able to grab one of the benches for my own and take out my own packed lunch. I send a quick text to Caroline letting her know exactly where I am and dig into my apple.

All I'm gonna say is green apples are better than red apples. An apple has to have a crunch to it to make it work. You can't change my mind.

It's while I'm enjoying the sun on my face that, once again, a shadow casts over and there standing before me is _her_. Ugh oh.

"Hey, Skye," she says, acting as if nothing has changed. Damnit, I've been doing a good job at avoiding her so far. I guess this is where my luck runs out.

I sit up straight and face her properly. "Hey, Lana. How was your summer?"

"It was a bit boring without you here," she replies, taking a seat beside me. Oh wow, she's really not holding back in the slightest, huh?

The silence was awkward, and I didn't know what to say to that. I gulp and move over to make room for her on the bench, not wanting to be too close to her. I don't want Chad or anyone else to see us being too close. Chad let me know what he thought about what happened yesterday, I don't need anything else like that happening again today, it's only the second day back at school.

"You know, Chad spoke to me yesterday."

Lana rolls her eyes, taking out a water bottle. "Did he now?"

"Yeah, he's still upset with me for what happened at the party," I tell her.

"Well," she says, pausing to take a sip of water, giving me a second to really look at her. She is gorgeous, and I can understand why Chad is still mad at me. Long black hair that always seems to keep going, big brown eyes that stare into your soul and see your very being, and a smile that shines brighter than any sun. She licks her lips and I unconsciously end up doing the same. Shit. "Chad and I are no longer together, he doesn't have any right giving you grief."

"Well," I say, "I guess you're right there. He's had all summer to get over what happened."

"Speaking of that night..." uh oh "...is there any chance you wanna, I dunno, go out some time? Catch up at the grill maybe?"

Oh god, oh jeez, oh man.

What do I say?

Chad, we were homies, I can't do this to him, surely. But then again, he was such a dick to me yesterday! But he's also still upset about the betrayal... But he's had all summer to get over it! But he's a sweet guy, he deserves better than to get hurt like this... But this is my happiness we're talking about now! This is my opportunity for a relationship, should I say no because of the guilt or is that maybe exactly why I should say no? I don't want to be guilty the whole time because that's rude. Wait, who said this was going to end up being a relationship? This is just a date. One day! One date can't hurt, right? Oh no, I'm taking too long to reply -

"Skye!" Thank god for one Caroline Forbes!

"Um, can I get back to you on that?" I ask, already packing up my stuff quickly, "I have to go meet up with Caroline, important cheerleading business."

"Oh, you've decided to be a cheerleader again?"

"Yeah!" I say quickly, flinging my bag over my shoulder. "See ya!"

Caroline looks confused as I rush towards her, linking my arm with hers and steering us in the other direction.

"Hey, wasn't that - "

"Yup."

The realisation hit her. "Shut up. What did she say?"

"She asked me out," I grumbled, rounding the corner of the building and coming round to the football field. Sitting on the bleachers it is then, just like freshman year.

"No!" Caroline gasped, her mouth dropping dramatically.

"Yes!" I hissed, dragging her to sit down, hoping that nobody was listening in. "Please, please, please don't tell anybody."

"Of course, you have my silence," Caroline promises. She pauses for a moment before asking the question she had obviously been wanting to ask for the last millisecond. "Well, what did you say?"

"I told I'd let her know later...I didn't know what else to say!" I cover my hands over my face to hide my growing embarrassment.

I feel Caroline wrap her arms around me cooing, "Aw! Skye is growing up!"

"Shut up!" I whine.

"Come on, why didn't you say yes?"

"I dunno...I don't want to hurt Chad. Yes, he's acting like a bit of a dick but we're still friends. And..." I hesitate because saying it out loud makes my worries more real. "...and I don't want to be used as an experiment. That's something I need to worry about it college, not high school. In high school I'm alright with just dating boys. People stop caring once you get to college. At least that's what my cousin told me..."

"You do realise you don't need to have feelings to bang, right?"

"Nice, Caroline," I laugh, because who else would come out with that except her?

"Listen," she says, getting into her dramatic, motivational speech attitude, "If you want to give it a go, just do it, have fun with it. If not, then let her know and you can get on with your life. Either way, you're gonna look good for the party tonight!"

"Will you help me with my makeup later?" I ask her, puppy-dog eyes coming out.

"I thought you'd never ask," she grinned, suddenly turning serious, "Now, down to business, if you want to be on the cheer team, you need to let me know. You missed summer camp but I'm sure you can catch up no bother. I need to know whether I need to put people on a diet or whether I have my flyer back."

"I don't think the girls will be able to lift me after everything I ate this summer," I laugh.

"Wait, you're coming back?"

"Yeah, why not?"

Caroline grabs me in a hug, squealing loudly in my ear making me laugh harder.

For the rest of lunch, Caroline shows me all the diagrams she has made up over the summer for the cheer squad and different routines she's thinking of trying. She also gives me a heads up for what to expect the first practice coming up. She also gives her opinion about what I should wear tonight, the rocker style tank top she got me a couple of years ago, and the oversized bomber jacket that used to belong to my aunt. The jeans and the boots I'm currently wearing have been approved of already which I'm thankful for because it's gonna be chilly later.

The rest of school passed by fairly quickly, Tyler and Matt continued their "Tanner Time!" chant throughout the day anytime we neared his class, cheering loudly in my ear when the man himself walked by, Elena and Stefan continued to stare lovingly into each others' eyes during each class, getting caught and called out for doing so in almost everyone, and I continued to avoid Lana and Chad for two very different reasons. Thankfully, I don't have classes with either of them.

It's as I'm leaving the school, heading towards the car park, that I see a familiar person standing underneath the tree. It's the dude that almost ran me over this morning. What's he doing here?

"Skye!" I whip my head round to see Tyler hanging out the window of his car. "Do you need a lift?" he asks. I turn back around to check if the guy was still there and see he's disappeared. Hm. How mysterious.

"Yeah, Ty!" I call, rushing towards him. I jump in the passenger's seat, and we're off before I've even got my seatbelt on yet. Tyler seems slightly agitated as we drive out of the school car park and I decide to wait till we reach a red light to ask what's wrong. "What's up with you?" Silence. Oh boy. "Did something happen?"

"Jeremy's a punk."

"Mini-Gilbert?" I ask, confused. He's like a year younger than us, what could he possibly be doing to piss Tyler off? "What'd he do?"

"He thinks he's so tough just because he's pushing pills."

"He's dealing? Isn't he like, 15?"

"Yeah, he's a lil punk. Keeps trying to get in between me and Vicki."

"I didn't realise you two had got so close," I said slyly, poking at his shoulder.

Tyler rolls his eyes and starts the car moving once more as the light turns green. "Hey, it's nothing like that. We're just getting a...mutual benefit from this arrangement."

"You have a fuck buddy?"

"Well, I guess you could say that," he says nonchalantly.

"And it's Matt's big sister?"

"Don't tell him. Please."

"I mean, I think a part of him already knows," I tell him, shrugging my shoulders, "It isn't like the two of you are discreet in any way."

The amount this boy's eyes are rolling should be concerning me considering he's the one in the driver's seat. "Have you got booze for tonight?"

"I was hoping you would be of assistance here? You know, considering I've been away all summer, and you owe me still for drinking all my vodka at the last party we were at."

"It isn't like you were missing it," he says.

"Oi!" I smack him, even though I know I probably shouldn't but that's uncalled of

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry bout it. I think there's a half bottle I can get away with for you. Just bring your own mixer."

"Thanks, Ty, you're the best," I tell him sweetly.

"I know," he replies overly dramatically, flipping his invisible long hair and making me laugh.

I thank Tyler for dropping me off, saving me from potentially getting hit again by a car, and head into my home. There's only one car in the driveway so far so I guess only one of the parents is home.

"I'm home!" I call.

"Kitchen!" I hear my dad call out from, you guessed it, the kitchen.

Upon entering the said kitchen, I notice both my dad and brother sitting and standing on top of the kitchen counters. "What on earth are you two doing?" I ask.

"There's a spider on the floor!" Kieron yells, pointing to the corner floor to my left.

And I too end up on one of the kitchen counters. "Where?! Where?!"

* * *

"So that's why I was late." I explained.

"Oh, come on, Skye," Caroline groans, closing the door behind her. "Surely one of you could have scared it away or something."

I shook my head. "Afraid not. Sure, half an hour in we lost sight of it and ran to the living room but hey it was a scary time till my mom showed up and gave us the all clear."

"Good thing someone in your family isn't afraid of spiders."

"Yeah, my mom is pretty awesome."

"Okay but now we are behind schedule! We've only got half an hour until we have to leave so we can still be fashionably late!" Caroline says, rushing up the stairs to her room and leaving me to follow. Her mom wasn't home, which didn't surprise me considering she's a bit of a workaholic.

Caroline makes quick work of getting my hair and makeup in order, seeing as she herself has been ready for the last however long she's been waiting. My auburn hair ends up being let down and curled slightly at the end, my makeup made pretty simple, but still something I struggle with. Caroline works quickly but effectively, and we grab a quick photo of the two of us posing in the mirror with a couple peace signs before leaving.

I remember that at some point I'm gonna have to find Tyler, seeing as he said he would give me a bottle of something in payment for drinking all my own stuff at the last party we were at together. It's only fair, but I'll need to find him quickly if I want to make sure I get some, he might just decide to drink it all and leave me to fnd for myself. I don't really feel like flirting with half the football team just so I can get free refills of that horrid, watered down beer they bring. That'll only happen if I'm truly desperate.

One of Caroline's friends gave us a lift, along with two other girls from track. We all done some shots on the way there, singing along to Taylor Swift and whoever else came on the radio until we arrived at the Falls. It was buzzing with teenagers already, a bonfire brightly shinning in the distance.

"Here we go, ladies," the driver, Alexis said, "Let's get this party started!"

The rest of the girls cheer and hurry off towards a beer pong table. Caroline holds back and seems to scan the crowd. For who, I can only guess is one certain Salvatore. I might try and spend the night keeping her away from Stefan, maybe find another random guy for Caroline to focus on, try and save her the heartache. I also want to keep someone close to me tonight because I don't want to be caught off guard, on my own with some certain people. Especially when I have alcohol in my system.

"Caroline! Let's go do some shots!" I say, grabbing her arm and dragging her towards a table filled with drinks, where I notice one Tyler Lockwood standing. Perfect! "Tyler! What have you brought me?"

"Hey, I was wondering if you were going to show up or not, so I did drink some of it. What happened, did Caroline make you late?"

"Hey!" Caroline glares.

I rub the back of my neck, avoiding eye contact with the pair. "Yeah, no, I was running late. There was an incident in my kitchen with a...spider." I explain sheepishly. Tyler bursts out laughing, obviously catching on to the fact that yes. I had been stuck for far too long on my kitchen counter, and if it weren't for the fact that I was utterly terrified out of my mind I too would have found it a hilarious situation to be in.

Tyler places a hand on my head and "Aw, Skye, what're you gonna do when your mum isn't there to get rid of them?"

"I'll get my partner or roommate to do it," I say surely, crossing my arms over my chest.

"What if you end up living on your own?"

"You think I'll be able to afford a place on my own? In this economy?"

"Good point..."

"Right!" Caroline says loudly, grabbing our attention, "Shots?"

"Hell yeah!" I cheer and begin smacking Tyler's shoulder as he began to pour out three shots.

The three of us do a handful of shots to kickstart our night off, and it isn't long until in the distance I see Chad alongside some of the other football guys looking over at us. Ugh oh. Tyler looks over his shoulder to where I'm staring off to and sees what I'm seeing clearly as he sends a glare his way and turns back to me, "If he bothers you tonight, let me know and I'll beat his ass so hard he won't be able to play for the rest of the season."

I smile at his tough-guy speech, truly feeling cared for. "Thanks, Ty, but as long as I'm with one of you guys, I think I'll be fine."

Unfortunately, it isn't long after this conversation that we realise Caroline has gone off somewhere, and then Vicki arrives and yeah the three of us are having a good ole time except after turning my head for two seconds they've disappeared into the forest somewhere. Okay, maybe I sat and stared off for longer than two seconds but in my alcohol-induced state, it was only two seconds.

And I'm alone. In the wild of a party.

Oh golly, right, let's go find someone. Anyone.

On my way past the roaring bonfire, I step around folk roasting marshmallows and wish I had been smart enough to bring some too. I move around and spot a head of blonde hair in the distance and it's Matt! Immediately, I speed up and launch myself onto his back, causing the boy to stumble forward slightly and hit the edge of the bridge.

"Matty!"

"Oh god, you're drunk." he groans, grabbing my arms and trying to make me release my hold from his neck but oh ho, I'm stronger than that. Nevermind, I have been foiled quite easily. Matt leans me against the railing and sighs. "Wait here, I'm gonna get you some water."

"But I don't want water," I whine, keeping a hold of his arm, "I wanna dance, will you dance with me?"

Matt glances over my shoulder. "I ugh...sure."

As I drag him towards where the music is blasting, I look back to see what's up and see that he's staring at Stefan and Elena. Ah, even in my mind I can sense the angst. Good thing my mistakes are actually doing the work of the lord tonight and helping our resident good boy out.

Some random one-hit-wonder song comes out and I cheer despite knowing none of the lyrics, grabbing Matt's hand and spinning myself around and then making him lean down to twirl around too. It isn't long before the pair of us are laughing and it's a mission accomplished on my end. I guess I'm just glad Matt can enjoy at least some of this night without thinking too much about Elena. I do love that girl, and I don't blame her for it, but the friend group has been split since the two of them well...split.

After a few songs, I'll admit I'm a bit tired. And I allow Matt to take me over to one of the logs to sit me down. He then leaves to go grab something, the water I think it was he said. Water doesn't sound too bad right about now, especially after all that dancing.

This has been a good night so far, I've gotten a good level of drunk with Tyler and Caroline, although I'm not sure where they are, I've danced with Matt, I have very successfully managed to avoid having to interact with Chad and I haven't even seen Lana! This is great! No major responsibilities, no major heartaches, no tears, this night really is going strong.

It's at that moment I see Tyler storming out of the forest, no Vicki seen, and he very angrily marches towards the table filled with alcohol. He immediately takes a bottle of Jack Daniels and starts drinking it straight, no chaser. Oh boy, guess I spoke too soon huh?

Matt then appears once more with a cup of water and hands it to me gently. "I'll be right back, please just drink that. All of it."

I give him a pout and start drinking the water, jumping when half of it falls down my top. Wow, that was cold. At least it's only water though. I don't know where Matt went, but considering I can see Stefan and Caroline talking in the distance, the pair of blondes standing out in my hazy mind, I can only guess he's went to go find Elena and talk to her. I get to my feet and wobble slightly but start my way over to the pair. Wow, it's a beautiful night. And Stefan and Caroline are both beautiful people. And why does Stefan not like Caroline again?

"Caroline, you and me...it's not going to happen. I'm sorry." The 'I like Elena' wasn't exactly said but I could practically hear it. And considering he heads straight for Elena afterwards, it's a dead giveaway. Oh boy...

I see a crestfallen Caroline and immediately I want to smack Stefan. He just walks away to find Elena, he didn't even bother trying to be super nice about it! And here I thought he was a good guy. Maybe my initial thought of him and his indoor sunglasses was right...

"Care, you okay?" I ask her. She doesn't respond for a second, and I wonder whether she's going to start crying or not and I swear if he starts crying then I will cry and oh boy that's gonna be a huge mess in itself.

"Yup," she eventually says, not very convincingly, "I'm fine. Excuse me for just a min..." And before I can stop her she's off. My heart breaks for Caroline, she deserves the best and just isn't getting it.

But I can't dwell on Caroline's issues for long. In the distance, I spot Chad and Lana talking, quite heatedly, with lots of exaggerated hand motions and everything. A stutter here, a stumble there, they're both drunk and angry which is never a good combination. I decide for my own personal health and safety to quickly and discreetly move out of their line of vision.

It's as I'm glancing behind me that I end up bumping into someone and falling flat on my ass. In the process, I've managed to knock over a cooler and man there is rolls down to the river huh. Thankfully it seems like it was empty.

A hand appears in my vision through the clouds of embarrassment and I grab it before looking up to see who it was, desperate to get out of this situation. I'm mumbling half apologies for bumping into this guy, but looking to see just how much attention I grabbed and - oh lorde, both Lana and Chad are making their way over here.

"You're a bit of a clutz, huh?" the guy says beside me and oh god I'm panicking so much is happening, I really don't want to deal with either of them right now never mind the two of them at the same time. "First I almost run you over, then you try to run me over? Wow, what a day."

Hold up, wait a second...

I whip my head around and see it is, in fact, the hot guy who almost hit me with his car this morning. He was thankfully no longer wearing the shades, because if he did then he and Stefan better have some odd fashion statements in common, but he did have a very attractive smirk and a cool looking leather jacket. Staring up at him, it felt like his eyes were looking right into my soul. And wow, god really has done well making this one, huh?

"Y-Yeah, sorry about that, I um... You see, the thing is - "

"Skye!" I hear in the distance and the momentary calm of being able to check someone out is gone. It's panic time once more, not to be mistaken with Tanner Time, they are two very different things despite giving off some of the same vibes.

I take one more glance over to see that the pair are very close now and well, in my drunk ass mind there's not a lot of plans that are able to be formed right now. I turn fully to this stranger, making him raise an eyebrow. I tell him quickly, "I'm sorry about earlier this morning, I'm sorry about that, and I'm really sorry about this." I grab the collar of his leather jacket and bring his face down towards mine, raising myself onto my tiptoes slightly so I could kiss him easier. And I can't tell if it's just the alcohol, but this is a good ass kiss.

His lips are soft and move against mine with far more experience than I've ever had. I feel an arm snake around my waist slightly raising me higher. And for a moment I forget why I did this in the first place, only focusing on the fact that this feels soo good.

It's when I need to come up for air that I discreetly look over the shoulder of this guy - who I now realise I don't even know his name - to see Chad and Lana rolling their eyes, looking exasperated and still arguing. Okay, good, they're no longer coming for me. Thank you to the Avengers for reminding me people hate witnessing PDA.

Now I just have to deal with this guy.

"That...now that I was not expecting," he says, giving me some room now we aren't joined at the face, but not fully letting me go just yet. Oh great, explanation time.

"Yeah, I'm sorry for using you, although you didn't seem to mind too much, I just needed my ex and their ex to not come over here. I'm kind of trying to avoid them." I explained. He takes a quick look over his shoulder making me gently smack his arm because, dude, "Don't make it too obvious."

He sends me a look which while, yes, very hot, convinces me that I shouldn't trust this guy further than I could throw him. "My apologies, I just wanted to see who you were avoiding."

"You could probably take the guy. Chad just puts on a big man act, probably because he has such a jock name. Who names their baby Chad? Now Lana you have to worry about a bit more considering she's done martial arts and all that shit since she was like two years old," I blabber, instantly regretting the word vomit. But hey, I'd take word vomit over actual vomit any day. "Sorry, um, no offence but you don't seem like you're in high school. Are you from one of the colleges nearby?"

"I am," he says, very matter of fact, "I came tonight to see what was happening, and I'm very glad I did."

I tell myself the blush is there because the bonfire is warm, and I've had a lot of alcohol, but nope, unfortunately, this guy is just very charming.

"I'm sorry, I never introduced myself, I'm Skye Hampton," I say sheepishly, holding a hand out for him to shake. "Seems a bit silly shaking hands after...that."

"Well, Skye," and wow he says my name very nice, very nice indeed, "We could do...that again, and a whole lot more, if you wanted to get out of here?"

Woww, as exciting as that sounds, I'm sobering up so... This situation seems like it's gonna happen less and less. Awkward city here I come. "Yeah, um," I put my hands over his and try to untangle myself from him, glancing away because eye contact is a bitch. "I'm sorry I'm not looking to bump uglies in the forest or anything like that. I actually need to get a ride home with my friend later, and I don't even know your name or anything so - "

His hand grabs my chin and suddenly I'm looking into his eyes and I can't seem to look away. Not like, in some romantic way, but physically unable to move. What on earth?

"You're going to forget that your friend is giving you a lift, I'm going to give you a lift, and we are going to have a lot of fun. Understood?"

"I'm going to - "

"Skye!" And it's like I've been broken from a trance as a hand comes out and smacks me. "You little whore! What are you doing?" Oh god, it's Lana.

"Lana I..." I feel disoriented, I don't know what's wrong me... "What's...?"

And then there's screaming.

A lot of screaming.

Vicki's name gets yelled, a lot, but I don't see most of it because Lana is screaming above me, slapping my head over and over again and I take back everything I said, tonight went to shit. Thankfully Tyler comes to the rescue and lifts her off me, grabbing and lifting me up and over his shoulder and moving quickly towards his truck. He really shouldn't be driving but my mind feels too muddled to care.

Leaning over his shoulder, holding onto the back of his shirt, I see a crowd surrounding Vicki. Matt, Elena and Jeremy. And blood. A lot of blood. Flashing lights illuminate the area further, only causing my headache to worsen. How did it get this bad? I swear I felt like I was sobering up not even ten minutes ago. What happened? Was I drugged? Is this what a bad trip feels like?

"Come on, I'm taking you back to mine, we can get coffee and sober up properly, then I'll take you home," Tyler says, opening up the seat of the truck and placing me. I grab the seat belt and end up missing several times. Tyler, getting into the driver's seat, notices this and quickly helps me. Maybe he isn't too bad after all. "Are you alright? If you need to throw up let me know and I'll pull over. For now..." he searches under the seat for a second and hands me something plastic "...here's a bag."

"I-I'm going to forget...lift..."

The flashing lights of the ambulance hurt so I close my eyes. Only opening them when they disappear.

"You're...you...giving me a lift..."

"Yeah, that's right, Skye, you're good." I hear Tyler say, putting on the radio quietly in the background. It's some slow jazz or something. I dunno.

The trees pass by so quickly, but they're so much further away, and I can't feel the wind. And I'm in a car so I guess that's why.

"...we...we're gonna have fun?"

"Not tonight Skye, we're gonna sober up. It's time for bed."

"But...Vicki?"

"Vicki...she'll be fine." And for some reason, I don't think he believes what he's saying. I wonder what happened to her, how did she get so hurt? All that blood, what happened?

* * *

_*Meanwhile*_

"The crows a bit much, isn't it?" Stefan says, glancing at the bird in the window.

Damon grins. "You should see what I can do with the fog."

"How long have you been here?"

"Well," he says, making his way around the room he hasn't been in for the last who knows how long. "I couldn't miss your first day of school. Your hairs different, I like it."

"It's been fifteen years, Damon."

"Thank god, I couldn't take another day of the nineties. That horrible grunge look," he laughed, "did not suit you."

"Why are you here?"

"I missed my little brother."

Stefan glares, keeping his caution. "You hate small towns, they're boring, there's nothing for you to do."

"I've managed to keep myself busy...with a friend of yours no less. Skye, pretty name for a pretty girl." Damon says, thinking back to the girl from earlier, wondering what became of her after the Lana girl started hitting her. He would have maybe interrupted if not for the fact the other girl's body had just been discovered and he had to avoid his brother.

"What did you do to her?" Stefan asks cautiously, thinking back to the happy-go-lucky girl he'd just met, who was only cautious about him because he had worn sunglasses indoors.

"Nothing...yet," Damon replies, a grin spreading on his face. The anticipation of how he can torment his brother was rising. He couldn't help but think about how much fun he's going to have messing with him.

* * *

**Word count: 5,826  
Proofread? A lil. Not a lot.**

**Here we are! Let me know what you thought of this chapter! And also, weird request, but can you let me know whether or not the chapters are long enough? I'm not sure and I don't want to be writing too little per chapter. Hope you enjoyed it!**

**Remember kids, lots of reviews = faster/longer updates!**

_**Hello I respond to your**_** reviews~**

**KimmyWSmith - Skye is, in fact, bi, the reason being that I myself am bi and have crushed on just about all of the cast from TVD at some point or another. As for interactions, it just means that flirting is possible between anyone and everyone which I think is great.**

**sam - v cool name, short, simple, sweet, I like it. Thanks! And as for who Skye will end up with well as I said above anybody and everybody is game. I have some ideas for the future and I can't wait for everyone to hate it x**


	4. Chapter 4 - Aftermath

**Another day, another chapter, huh. We are now moving on to Episode 2 of the first season! Only took us 4 chapters... Personally, I don't think I'll drag out these chapters for as long as I have been. In fact, who knows? Maybe I will. I dunno, the possibilities are endless!**

**Anyway! Took a little longer to get this chapter out but heyho, that's uni life for you huh. Probably won't be too much of an issue now with this self-isolation thing. Stay safe y'all!**

* * *

_"You know, darling, you used to be so much better at this." The man says to the woman, clearly amused._

_"Oh, do shut up," she replies, rolling her eyes, and then her sleeves. "One more try."_

_"One more try," he agreed, "And then I will help you."_

_The dream was blurry, but it seems like it was taking place in some sort of stable, there was a handsome man, a gorgeous woman, and one very tall horse that the lady was trying to get on. I can almost feel her frustration as she tries to raise herself up. It's then I notice the clothes they both wear, they're old. Old as hell. I don't remember watching any Downtown Abbey before I went to bed..._

_The dress the woman was wearing was clearly not helping in the slightest, as despite being able to lift herself high enough onto the horse she couldn't get her leg over it to be able to ride. Ultimately, she fell, being caught by the man who seemed to have appeared out of thin air._

_"This was never an issue when I could wear trousers," she huffed, standing up properly once more, but not leaving the man's side._

_The man laughed in amusement, bringing the woman closer into his arms, "There will be a day where you will be able to wear whatever you wish. And maybe then you won't have an excuse."_

_"An excuse?! Let's see you try this in a dress then!"_

_The man's laughter faded, and the sounds of snoring replaced it._

Wow...what happened last night? My head is pounding... At least I'm comfortable and not in some tree somewhere in the woods like the last year., or in some stable like in my dream just there. Without opening my eyes in hopes of clinging to the last ounces of sleep, trying to block out the sound of the radio from somewhere else in the house going on about another tragic animal attack which really just sounds like the government killing people off but sue me for being cautious, and huh, I'm still awake...

I snuggle further into the comfort and realise oh dear god it's moving. Something behind me is moving. I don't want to open my eyes. This is like some sick kind of game show reveal. Who did you accidentally sleep within a drunken haze? Place your bets now! Was it A) Lana, B) Chad, C) Tyler or D) Stranger. We will reveal the answer to you all after these messages.

Right, let's just bite the bullet and get this over with.

"Rise and shine you two!" I hear the chirpy voice of Tyler's mom and a sudden burst of light hits me in the face, making me and who I'm guessing must be Tyler groan.

"Mom, it's too early," Tyler complains, throwing an arm over his face.

I open my eyes slightly to see Mrs Lockwood looking immaculate this fine day, a huge contrast compared to the slump Tyler and I must look. "You two might want to go get cleaned up before your father comes down and sees how you've spent the night. We do have guest bedrooms, Tyler. Hell, even your own bedroom. No need to go into one of the public settings and - "

"Mom!" Tyler says in clear embarrassment.

"I'm just saying!" she says and sends me a smile, "Glad to see you're still putting up with him Skye, would you like anything for breakfast?"

Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I said, "Just some toast would be great, thanks." I sit up as she leaves the room, Tyler and I exchanged a look of 'oh boy, we will be hearing about this again shortly' before getting up.

The pair of us were still wearing exactly what we wore last night, shoes and all. I'm surprised we didn't freeze without a blanket or anything, but Tyler has always been kind of a radiator so I guess that made up for it. I point and snigger at Tyler's bed hair, or in this case, couch hair, to which he responds by pointing and sniggering at my face and I can only guess that the makeup Caroline put on so nicely has smudged quite horribly. Here we go.

"Didn't know I brought a panda home last night."

"Oh, shut it, Goku."

As we crept up the stairs, heading towards Tyler's room and thankfully avoiding his quite frankly shitey father, we each got a change of clothes and each took a shower each. I went to one of their many spare bathrooms, thankful that I had a change of underwear and leggings but no change of top? I grabbed a Batman top from Tyler's drawer though so hopefully he won't mind too much. I shower quickly, not wanting to take up too much time considering I didn't want to wash my hair just yet. I remove the makeup from last night with plenty of soap and water, using the facewash on the side of the sink to hopefully get rid of the rest.

I re-tie my hair up in a neater looking ponytail and hope that despite the eyebags, people won't immediately assume I'm a zombie. I have a bruise underneath my eye that looks like a large bag but damn, Lana really went for it, huh? She was drunk as hell so probably didn't do as much damage as she could have done, but still! I pull my hand back with a hiss after touching it. Damn, this is gonna be difficult to explain to the parents when I get home.

Shit. I didn't call my parents. Or at least I don't think I did.

I quickly open my phone to see only one message from my mom, and I can't tell whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. Maybe I've finally been disowned... It read: _Tyler messaged me to say that you're staying over at his tonight... Heard what happened with Vicki this morning... Glad to know you're okay... See you later..._

What is up with parents and their excessive use of '...' because quite frankly, I'm now concerned about whether or not I'm in trouble. Know what? That's a future me problem. They can deal with it.

Exiting the bathroom I spot Tyler heading down the stairs. He glances up after hearing the door open and glares when he sees what I'm wearing.

I grin. "What?"

"You know," he says, crossing his arms over his chest, "I've never had an issue with girlfriends taking my clothes, only you. Now how is that fair?"

"Because your clothes stink and I've already been exposed so much over the years that I'm the only one that can withstand the stench," I told him, hopping down the stairs, the smell of toast lingering in the air. Now, I'm either having a heart attack or breakfast is served!

We both had a quick breakfast before rushing off to school. Well, Tyler thankfully drove past my house so I could pick up my bag and brush my teeth quickly first so I wasn't a complete monster. I also picked up some paracetamol for us both so hopefully our headaches would cease to exist in half an hour. My family were too busy getting ready themselves to really chat, so we were back on the road to school in no time.

Tyler pulls up into the parking lot and you can tell who was at the Falls last night; everyone who was there seems to have that tired, hungover look around them. I walk alongside Tyler as we make our way into the school, keeping an eye out as we turn the corner. I don't feel too keen on accidentally running into Lana again, especially after last night.

"You know, you could have changed and given me my t-shirt back."

"Yeah, I could have," I agreed, "but I like the Batman, so we're gonna stick with that for now. I promise you'll get your precious t-shirt back soon."

"I better," Tyler says, slamming his locker open.

"Ohh, scary."

"Ready for Tanner Time?"

"Oh, first thing? With a hangover? This ain't it, sis," I groan leaning back on my locker dramatically. "Why god has forsaken me so?"

Tyler gently nudges me forward, towards the classroom. "Maybe if you stopped stealing other people's clothes they wouldn't smite you where you stand."

"It's called borrowing," I corrected, whipping my head around and promptly smacking him in the face with my ponytail.

It's still five minutes till class but already I see Matt sitting at his seat, looking out the window. He has bags under his eyes and I can tell he probably hasn't slept much. My heart breaks. Tyler steps ahead of me and sits next to him, hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, man, how you holding up?" he asks.

Matt sighs, shaking his head slightly. I drop my back at my desk and head out into the hallway to let the boys have some guy talk. It gives me time to go the vending machine and grab some energy drink that will hopefully help me get through this day.

I rub my eyes trying to rid them of any lingering sleep as I press the buttons, the drink falls and someone grabs it before me! I look to where the hand connects to and find one Stefan Salvatore standing next to me, handing me the bottle.

"Oh, thanks," I say, accepting it from him.

"You're welcome," he replies, and something clearly seems to be bothering him. It seems he has something to ask me. "How are you feeling today?"

I shrug and begin the slow walk back to Tanner's classroom. "A little hungover, but nothing some cheap energy drink can't fix. Yourself?"

"Same," Stefan says, "Although I've opted for coffee." And he holds up a portable cup with some strong-smelling coffee in it. Even from beside him I feel more awake already. "Do you know what happened last night?"

"Vicki got hurt is all I heard," I said, "My mind kinda went a bit iffy right before everything kicked off, good thing Tyler was able to get me out of there. My mom would not have been happy if I ended up sleeping in the woods again."

"You sleep in the woods?" Stefan asked, I glance at him and see the amusement on his face, clearly not knowing whether I'm being serious or not.

I roll my eyes in exasperation. "Listen, it was one time. We all got reaally drunk, but because I fell asleep next to a tree and not in the tents like everyone else, somehow that makes me the weirdo. Which clearly isn't fair. If everyone else was able to get themselves into their tents, into their pyjamas, then clearly they would have been able to see me knocked out in a bush!"

"Too right," Stefan agrees, although I sense a hint of sarcasm behind that smile, "What were they thinking?"

"They weren't, clearly."

"Clearly."

And we enter the class, a lot busier now and with Tanner writing on the board already, taking our seats and a sip of our caffeinated beverages in hopes of surviving the day.

"Originally discovered nearly five centuries ago it hasn't been over Mystic Falls in over 145 years," Tanner explained, and this class is either getting semi-interesting or the drink is kicking in. "Now the comet will be its brightest right after dusk during tomorrow's celebration. Now, are we bothering you, Mr Salvatore? Miss Gilbert?" I snigger realising the two got caught giving each other heart eyes, making Tanner turn his attention to me. Uh oh. "Must I remind you to not have your picnics during class?"

"It's just one drink though," I said, trying in vain to defend myself. Here we go.

"Get it in the bag," he said, clearly in a mood. "Anyway - "

Man, I hope this comet is more interesting than having to listen to Tanner ramble on... Finally, the bell rings signalling freedom from Tanner and into the next pit of hell, math. After giving Matt a quick hug, I rush out to catch up with Bonnie and Caroline who are in my next class.

"I'm confused," Caroline says, "Are you psychic or clairvoyant?"

"Technically, Grams says I'm a witch," Bonnie replies, "My ancestors were these really cool Salem witch chicks or something..."

"Hell yeah, they were!" I agree, hopping in between the pair, slinging my arms over their shoulders. "Bennett update 20.8 is the best version so far in my opinion!"

"I'm not a phone, dummy," she says, rolling her eyes.

Caroline gasps, "What if you can talk to the dead?"

"What do the dead have to talk about anymore?" I ask, "_Hello? Yes? What do you mean they made two political parties?!_"

Bonnie shakes her head. "Crazy family? I can deal with that. Witches? I don't think so."

"Well, if you can, feel free to conjure up the name and number of that guy from last night," Caroline says.

"A guy?" I grin, nudging her side gently.

Bonnie laughs, "You seen him, Care, I didn't." And then it seems she finally turns to face me because her eyes go wide. "What the hell happened to you?"

"What?" Caroline says before stopping and turning to face me too. A dramatic gasp and we're heading to the female bathroom together. "When did this happen? Did you fall into a tree or something?"

I roll my eyes, sitting beside the sinks and letting Caroline put some concealer over the bruise, trying my best not to wince despite how gentle she was being. "Oh yeah, you guys might not have seen because it happened right before the whole Vicki thing but um... Lana - "

"Lana did this?" Caroline gasps.

"No way," Bonnies says angrily, "What a bitch, what'd she do that for?"

"Well," I say, dragging out the word, wondering how I'm going to phrase this. "Wanting to avoid the argument her and Chad were clearly having, I ended up maybe making out with some college guy who was there to try and make them not interact with me."

"Wow," the two girls gape.

"Yeah, clearly my plan backfired because she then proceeded to start smacking me about," I continued, checking the mirror to see that the dark spot looked a little less noticeable now thanks to my dear friend. "And then that's when the Vicki thing kicked off."

"And the guy you made out with didn't help you kick her off?" Bonnie asks. I shake my head and she crosses her arms with a disapproving look. "What an asshole."

"To be fair, between a catfight and some girl potentially dying, I think one takes priority over the other," I said, hopping off the side and grabbing my bag. "Plus, Tyler was there to get me out of there."

"Speaking of Tyler," Caroline says, stepping in front of the door.

Uh oh, here we go.

I send a pleading look towards Bonnie who shakes her head. Damn, even she's not on my side this time.

"What's this about?" I ask cautiously.

"Is there anything going on between you two?" she asks, "Because as your best friends, it's our business to know that you're being treated right. And if he's fooling around with Vicki or any other girl while he's with you then - "

"Care! Bon! Please!" I beg because I can't keep doing this again, "Tyler and I are just friends, you are my girls and my best friends but so is he. To be honest, he could be one of the girls if he really wanted to, all we would really need is a wig and some heels."

"Whatever you say, Skye," Bonnie says, walking ahead of us, not seeming to believe me.

"Seriously! I'm sure we could convince him."

"That isn't the issue we're talking about and you know it," says Caroline, about to continue when the bell rings once more. "We will be continuing this talk later."

"I'm sure we will," I agree, not as energetic as her though.

Math thankfully isn't too painful that day and I can work myself through the problems given without too much hassle. And after a couple more hours it's lunchtime. I opt out of sitting in the cafeteria and go with Tyler to hang out with him and his friends for once. If I want to continue avoiding Lana then it's probably best I have a lot of escape routes, and what better escape route than the great outdoors!

It's in the middle of a conversation I'm having with Tyler, debating whether or not the Riddler or the Joker would win in a fight, when Elena's little brother Jeremy walks up, looking none too pleased...

"Hey Tyler!" oh bud, please don't start a fight. "I'm sorry to interrupt but I was wondering how Vicki was doing seeing as you guys were so close. Is she okay?"

Tyler huffs, clearly not happy with him. "She's fine. Now get out of here."

But Jeremy just has to keep on pushing. "How bad is she? Do they know what attacked her? Is she going to make a full recovery? Was she happy to see you? What room number was she in?"

I can tell these questions are beginning to piss Tyler off, so I step in before anything can escalate. "Easy there, little Gilbert, she only went into the hospital last night. Visiting hours started when school did. From what we've heard from Matt, she seems stable."

My interference doesn't seem to help though. Jeremy looks back to Tyler. "What? Playing with multiple girls at once? How cool are you."

"Oi!" I yell in shock. The cheek of this kid!

"Back off, Gilbert. Or I'm gonna beat your ass. Final warning." said Tyler.

"No, this your final warning, dick. I'm sick and tired of you playing with Vicki, if you hurt her one more time I swear to god I will kill you," the little Gilbert says before storming off.

Tyler's friends are glancing over now, so I shrug and try to make light of the situation. "Kids, amirite?"

"I can't believe that punk just threatened me, what lil prick," Tyler grumbles, glaring after him.

I rolled my eyes, shaking my head at his anger. He got it from his dad and he really needs to learn how to swallow a chill-pill. However, it's during this commotion that the person I've been trying to avoid all day, quite successfully mind you, has appeared in front of the group. She stands there, in all her glory, looking way more put together than anyone else who was at the Falls last night. That isn't fair, she can't still be attractive after practically beating me to a pulp, surely? Goddamn hormones.

"Skye, can we talk?" asks Lana, nervously fiddling with the strap on her bag, shuffling it further onto her shoulder as it began to slip.

Should I? It's obviously going to be about last night, she looks pretty remorseful so she probably regrets what she did, gonna receive some heartfelt apology. But do I really want to hear it right now, when I need to cover up a black eye that she gave me that still has a dull throb to it if I move my face too much? No, I don't think I'm quite ready for this conversation.

Tyler thankfully comes to my side, effectively creating a bit of a wall between us. "We've got to get to class, Lana."

"I wasn't talking to you, prick," she snapped back.

"Maybe some other time," I tell her, grabbing my bag from the table and walking with Tyler back towards the school. It takes a lot of my willpower not to turn around to see if she's looking this way, to see whether she's now mad at me or even upset at all. I can't tell what would be worse at this moment.

"You know," Tyler says as we make our way towards our locker, pushing past some folk that just wouldn't move out the way. Normally I'd care and tell him to stop being a jerk but right now, fuck 'em, "The teachers around here have got to be a bit concerned, surely."

What is he talking about? I decide to play along with whatever it is he's on, "Oh yeah? What for?"

"Well, we've both been showing up to class on time, and early too! They surely think we've either lost it or we're planning senior prank night early."

I roll my eyes at his attempt at humour. "Funny," I tell him as we reach our next class as see our Spanish teacher and the French teacher looking at us strangely as we walk in. I see them looking at one of their watches and can't help but laugh. "Man, I didn't think we were this tardy."

The rest of school is thankfully uneventful, Matt seems to have ditched the rest of the day which is understandable, but Stefan wasn't in class either which seems a bit off. He seems like a by-the-rulebook kind of guy, not the ditch-on-the-second-day kind of guy. Huh, maybe I misjudged him. It's as I return to my locker that I am ambushed by one Caroline Forbes who demands that I come to the Mystic Grill with her, Elena and Bonnie. Apparently, last-minute plans to gossip about Elena and Stefan's brand new relationship. And to also help fold posters and leaflets for the comet, but I didn't find out about the work part until we got there and I had no way of getting home without walking.

A short ride later, we were sat outside at the Grill with cups of coffee and chatting shit. I catch everyone up on the drama between Lana and me, Elena slightly shocked to see I have a black eye from the party more than anything else. Elena shows us an original version of Wuthering Heights that Stefan seemed to have just lying around for some reason. Very sweet of him, he must really like Elena if he's lending her a book that probably costs more than anything else I own.

"What do you mean you two didn't do anything?" Caroline asks Elena, shocked to find out that the pair had done nothing except talking the night away. To be honest, it was quite shocking to me as well.

"Yeah, not even a little smooch at the end of the night?" I ask. Elena shakes her head and I raise my eyebrow. She shakes her head again, looking more amused this time and I shrug. "Well, I mean, you do you."

"What is with the blockage?" Caroline asks, clearly not satisfied with how these events are going. "Jump his bones already! It's easy. Boy likes girl, girl likes boy, sex!" I burst out laughing at that. Caroline, always the smooth talker.

"Profound," Elena says sarcastically. Her and Bonnie don't seem to find this whole spiel as funny as I do. But then, out of nowhere, Elena grabs her jacket and gets up.

"Where are you going?" Bonnie asks.

"Caroline's right." And we all look shooked to hear this. "It is easy. If I sit here long enough, I'll end up talking myself out of it. I'm gonna go out and do what I said I was gonna do today." And she was off.

"And that's jump Stefan's bones?" I ask the other two in confusion.

"Oh, shoot," Elena turns back around, "do you still need a ride, Skye?"

I shake my head, "It's fine, I'll walk home. Go get your man!"

"Are you sure?" she asks, concern on her face.

I look at Caroline and Bonnie and the pair shake their heads.

"Sorry, I'm going to meet up with Grams after this."

"I have more prep to do here."

"On second thought," I get up quickly and rush over to Elena. "Sorry but I don't think I'm quite ready to be walking home yet."

She laughs, "How much did you drink last night?"

"I don't even know, honestly," I reply. I don't feel like I'm going to throw up anymore but I've had this dull throbbing headache all-day that just doesn't seem to leave, no matter how much water or coffee I drink. Hopefully after a good night sleep tonight, it'll be gone. "So, what's the plan? How are you gonna swoon him?"

"Swoon him?" Elena says, raising an eyebrow at my choice of words. "Really?"

"Come on, what's your game plan? Now, we have a couple options. We have the romantic approach, we can pick up some flowers, you can blast some romantic music from your phone, the two of you can have a nice dance together while I raid the old wine cellar." I say, ignoring the disapproving look I receive from Elena for that last comment. "We also have the Caroline approach where, as she puts so nicely, you jump his bones."

She shrugs her shoulders while continuing to drive towards the outskirts of town, closer towards where the Salvatore boarding house was. We've driven past it hundreds of times, as residents of Mystic Falls, but have never been in it. It used to belong to the old Salvatore family who was very, very rich, being founders and all, but then it became a sort of bed and breakfast place where people passing by could stay the night, but with very little business it was more of a hassle to run than it was worth. I'm not sure what it's for now, looking pretty, I'm betting some sort of distillery.

"I don't have a plan," Elena admits, but with shoulders straightened she doesn't look put off by the challenge, "But I don't think I'll need one."

"Confidence is key, I like it," I grin, watching as the house in the distance gradually gets closer, seeming to loom over the rest of the area. "Wow..."

We both get out the car, to be honest, I don't know why I'm getting out, I could definitely stay in the car for this occasion instead of coming in and sitting on the couch but it feels like I'm being drawn in. It's almost mesmerising and I get quite the shock when Elena knocks on the door with the doorknocker. What a fun word that is, doorknocker. Does exactly what it says on the tin.

No response, but the door creeps open slowly. Elena looks back at me, and immediately I'm given some _Scooby Doo_ vibes. And the open door, albeit creepy, is practically inviting you to come in, so we step in through the threshold and into the dimly lit hallway.

"Wow," I gasp, stepping forward to look further into the house. There was a pretty grand looking staircase to the left, what looked to be a huge parlour living room to the right, a kitchen area straight ahead, and is that a library?

"Stefan?" Elena calls out, more cautious than I am clearly.

The sound of a goddamn bird grabs our attention and we whip around to the front door where some crow or raven flies by us, making us both duck as it almost hit us. Turning around to see where it went already feeling guilty that we've got a loose bird Stefan's home when I come face to um, chest with someone who was not standing there a minute ago. I look up and it's like my headache has both gone but also increased in an unbelievable magnitude.

I know him, he's the guy from the party last night.

I open my mouth to say something but I can't think of anything to say at this moment, and even if I did I'm not sure if I'd be able to speak. A smile appears on his face - wow, I still don't know his name - and turns to Elena who can thankfully fill him in on what on earth we're doing here.

"We're sorry for barging in the door was...open." And something tells me, despite being unable to move - why on earth can't I move - that the dang door is now conveniently shut. Huh. What kinda horror movie are we in right now?

"You must be Elena, I'm Damon. Stefan's brother," he said, completely ignoring that statement. And then he looks at me again. "It's nice to see you again so soon, Skye."

"He didn't tell me he had a brother..." Elena said, and if I could do literally anything right now I would remind her that Stefan told us he didn't have any siblings that he talked to which raises the question what on earth Damon is doing here if that were the case.

"Well, Stefan's not one to brag," Damon says. He extends his arm to us, placing a hand on my back and gently pushing me forward. "Please, come in. I'm sure Stefan will be along any second."

And as Elena walks forward to stare in amazement at their living room, I begin to snap out of whatever trance I feel like I'm in. My headache finally feeling like it's receding.

"I see why my brother's so smitten," I heard Damon tell Elena as I stared around the living room, taking in how old it all looked. It truly feels like being transported to the past. "It's about time. I was worried," he continued, "that he wouldn't get over the last one. Nearly destroyed him."

I turn around just in time to see a crestfallen look come over her face. "The last one?" Elena echoed, and something tells me a different conversation might be happening instead of the bumping uglies Caroline so desperately wants to hear about.

"Katherine? His ex-girlfriend?"

Elena shakes her head, not recognising the name. For some reason, that name was pretty familiar.

"Oh," Damon says and glances at me, "They haven't had the awkward ex's talk yet, have they?"

I shake my head, pursing my lips slightly. "No."

"Oops," he continues, not looking sorry in the slightest, more like his plan was falling right into place. "Well, I'm sure it'll come up now. Or maybe he didn't want to tell you, make you think he's on the rebound and all that. You know how those relationships end, am I right?" And a glance towards me hits hard because, ouch. Even though he didn't even know the full story, I think he really hit the nail on the head with mine and Lana's short love story. Wasn't really even love to be honest.

Elena, ever the hopeful, replies with, "You say that like every relationship is doomed to end."

Damon shrugs, "What can I say, I'm a fatalist."

I wonder when Stefan was gonna get here. I didn't see him at school today so surely he must be here, recovering from a hangover. But maybe he was out, who knows. Either way things are probably going to get a little awkward if doesn't show up soon. Meeting the family after not even dating for less than a week? Talk about getting thrown into the deep end.

A hand touches the back of my neck, outlining my birthmark and I stiffen. I turn my head to face Damon who continued to look at it quite curiously. "What?" I asked, sounding a bit more defensive than I meant to.

"Nothing, I just didn't know they let seventeen-year-olds get tattoos," he replied, looking quite distant as he continued to hold onto the back of my neck.

I grabbed his wrist and removed it forcefully. "I'm pretty sure they do, but it's a birthmark."

"A birthmark huh?" And if I couldn't tell any better, it seemed like he was having a flashback or something. "Interesting..." he said, and I couldn't help but get caught up in his eyes. As cliche as it sounds, they're beautiful and ridiculously mesmerising. And it feels like I'm being drawn in, told a story and that story is _heartbreaking_. I don't know what it is I'm seeing in his eyes, but I feel a tear rushing down my cheek and I snap out of it, quickly rubbing it away.

"Elena, Skye," And the three of us turn to see Stefan standing at the edge of the room, looking extremely uncomfortable. Elena goes over to him immediately. "I didn't know you were coming over."

"Hey, I'm sorry, I should have called - "

"Nonsense!" Damon interrupts, moving closer to the pair. "You are both welcome here, anytime, aren't they Stefan? You know, I should get out some old photos or some home videos, but I have to warn you that he wasn't always such a looker."

I smile as I see the scene of the generic older sibling teasing their younger sibling in their new relationship. I have done this with my younger brother when he gave another girl in his class a valentine's day card. It was adorable, he got one in return.

"I think you two should leave," Stefan says, completely unexpected, and a little bit rude. He doesn't even glance at Elena or I as he says this and Elena walks by him, brushing his shoulder slightly as she walks past. "Skye?"

And all eyes are on me.

In confusion, I turn to Damon for some reason. "You said - " And I can see with a slight widening of the eye that he knows exactly what I'm talking about.

"Don't worry about that anymore," he says quickly, not breaking eye contact. "Okay?"

"Okay, not gonna worry about it," I reply with a smile and walk past Stefan, catching up to a confused and hurt Elena.

Glancing back, I see that the brothers are having some sort of Mexican-standoff, they haven't broken eye contact once since we went past Stefan. That is until Damon sends me a little smile and wave. I wave back pretty half-heartedly and follow Elena out the door, closing it behind us. We get outside and into the car, and Elena throws her head back against the seat with a groan.

"What on earth was that about?" she asks, and I'm afraid I'm in for an interrogation that I won't be able to answer any question to. But thankfully that statement isn't directed to me. "Why was Stefan acting like that? Did I overstep? He was so...cold."

"I mean," I said, trying to ease her worries, "He did say he doesn't talk to his siblings, maybe Damon appearing was a shock to his system is all. But you're right, there was no reason for him to act like that. Wait till Bonnie and Caroline hear about this."

Elena groans once more before starting the car and driving me home. We don't talk much for the rest of the journey, occasionally making a comment about the amazing house they live in, occasionally commenting on how ridiculously hot Damon was.

"You two were totally eye-fucking."

"We were not!"

"You so were!" Elena says, laughing and you know what? I don't mind the humiliation if she's getting a bit of a kick out of it. What a shitshow she was just put through. "How do you two know each other anyway.

I can't help but shake my head because oh no. "So, you know how I said about the black eye?"

"Yeah?" And it takes Elena approximately five seconds and a single raised eyebrow to realise what I'm talking about. "Shut up, he's the guy you made out with?"

And the rest of the car journey, thankfully quite short, was spent talking about the event of last night once more. I thank Elena for the ride and head up my drive towards my house. Arriving home, the first thing I see after taking off my shoes is my mother standing in the hallway, never a good sign. Unless maybe this one time it is? Wishful thinking, I know.

"You know," she starts, and I can already tell this is gonna be a whole conversation, "I am your mom, you can tell me anything right?"

"Of course," I say, wondering where she's going with this.

"Because I got a phone call from one Carol Lockwood this morning telling me that she thinks you and Tyler - " oh dear god " - are finally together. Is this true?" The hopeful tone in her voice should annoy me more than it does, but I'm too used to it at this point.

"No!" I yell incredulously, eyes staring wide in shock. "Tyler and I are just friends, I thought we've been over this?"

"Well," she says, the disapproving tone in place, "What's with the cuddling all night on the sofa?"

I shake my head in disbelief because oh my god! Tyler's mom told my mom and who knows how many other's everything. "Mom, I promise, there's nothing going on between Tyler and me."

"Then why are you wearing his t-shirt?"

I hit my head on the back of the door and groaned. This is gonna be a loooong conversation, huh.

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**Word count: 6,409  
****Proofread?: Eh.**

**Lemme know what you thought of this chapter! I dunno if folk like it or not, but I'm trying to showcase the different relationships Skye has with different characters, and how the story morphs around her rather than insert her into the script, word for word. Personally, I find it quite boring to read an episode I could just watch, so I'm trying something different.**

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	5. Chapter 5 - The Comet

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_Huh, another dream? I've been having quite a few of these lately, wonder what this one will be about. I hope it's pirates, I did watch the Pirates of the Caribbean movies with Kieron so here's hoping I get some Kiera Knightley in my life! Unfortunately, I don't see my one true love, but it does seem like this dream is going to be quite an action-packed event given I'm wearing an old army uniform of some sort. Confederate I think. Oh wow, I'm in the Civil War. Wait. I'm a man?!_

_And it seems like we're all at some sort of post, currently engaging in - oh my god! My HAT! A shot runs through and I stare towards the other side where it's all a blur and I feel myself get tackled to the side. The two of us hit the ground with a thud as the dust of dirt and smoke appears where I just was._

_"Get moving, idiot!" the guy yells, still laying on top of me. He quickly gets up, dragging me with him and it's at that moment I recognise him clearly. I'm surprised I didn't see it sooner but the black hair curling from underneath his hat and the piercing blue eyes are unmistakable._

_"Damon?" I say, my voice not sounding anything like my own; much deeper, a bit rougher._

_He turns to face me, and his face falls, any remnants of anger leaving his body completely. I look down and see blood. And more blood. And more. And I don't know where the wound came from but surely one person can't have this much blood in them. __I start falling backwards, getting caught at the last second before I smack my head on the concrete behind me._

_There's yelling, and the fighting continues, gunshots still being heard in the background. But the sky is so clear, so blue. Hands are pressed tightly over my chest, making it hard to breathe. And I look up in Damon's eyes and smile, because his eyes are somehow brighter than the sky, angry-looking tears threatening to escape._

_"Don't you dare - "_

"Skye!"

I sit up suddenly, thankfully in my bed and not covered in blood. "Yup! I'm up!" And not wanting to continue a potentially scary dream, I hop out of bed and jump in the shower, ready to start my day.

What the hell is with these dreams I've been having lately? I never normally dream that often, so this has honestly been a treat but...why do they seem so cryptic? I never expected to have a dream where some hot guy holds me in his arms, but hey I guess we all get a treat sometimes. I don't care if I was a guy in the dream. All I care about is that I somehow died at the end! What a cheap escape of an ending...

"Are you excited about the comet tonight?" I ask my little brother Kieron as we sit eating pancakes at the table.

He shrugs, "Isn't it just a big flying rock?"

I nod my head, "Yeah, but it's a big flying rock that's also in space! Who knows how many alien planets it's been to?"

He smiles and I know I've got him. "Okay, that's pretty cool."

"Heck yeah, it is," I agree. "So, I've gotta help Caroline hand out first, leaflets and posters and stuff - "

"Why? The whole town knows about it already."

Actually. That's a good point. "Well, Caroline asked me to help and I said I would so I will."

"You mean she twisted your arm right?"

"Exactly." I grin, glad he knows where we all stand in this town. "Now, you can either help me with that - "

"No way."

" - or you can wait until mom or dad can drop you off." I finish, getting a little tired of him cutting me off.

"No can do, sweetie," Dad says coming into the kitchen, putting a mug in the sink and throwing the paper on the table. "Your mother is working late tonight, and I'm away till the end of the weekend."

"What?" we both exclaim. That's my plans out the window.

"I don't wanna help hand out posters." Kieron huffs, sulking in his seat already. I roll my eyes because I don't want to deal with a sulking brother all day.

"Come on, bud," Dad says, squatting in front of him, "I'm sure your sister will be happy to buy you some ice cream after, right, Skye?"

"Right." I agree quickly. If ice cream is all it takes to make him comply then I'll do it.

A moment of silence goes by as he considers the offer before nodding his head and I silently cheer in my head. He has been known to boost the prices before, once demanding a new game for his PlayStation. Cheeky bugger.

And so, saying a 'see you later' to our dad, I check my phone to see Caroline's reminder texts about what time to arrive and where we're meeting up. I let her know I'm bringing the child with me and get an almost instant response letting me know an extra pair of hands is always welcome. Oh boy, Kieron might be signed up for these events until Caroline stops hosting them now. And the only way that she won't be hosting them is if she ends up leaving town, which I don't think is gonna happen for at least another couple years. College is coming up soon...man, that's an existential crisis for another day, for now, it's time to go.

I send Kieron up to get ready and to get some sunscreen on as I clean up the kitchen quickly, putting some sunscreen on myself. Stay safe out there, kids. Kieron makes a few uncomfortable faces as I try to get his face done properly, but we get there in the end. As it's a sunny day, I'm wearing a pair of high waisted denim shorts and a crop top under a light-weight, short-sleeved hoodie.

We walk into town, singing funny songs along the way and making sure we avoid all the cracks in the sidewalk. At one point, I have to carry him as a couple of slabs are that cracked. You'd think with all the events we can afford to host we'd be able to fix the sidewalk but hey, I'm not the mayor.

I walk over to the stand where I see Caroline talking to some people from school also helping out, Tiki and Ryan. She sees Kieron and I approaching and grins, already grabbing supplies she had set aside for us.

"Hey, Care," I say when we get close enough.

"Hey, you two," she replies, smiling down at Kieron, "You ready to help out today?"

He shrugs his shoulders, shuffling his feet a bit. I nudge him slightly and give him a look to be polite. He sighs, "Yeah, I guess."

"Good," Caroline replies, content with his response. "You two are on poster duty, I want these posters on every post you can see in line with the town square."

Kieron baulks hearing that because unfortunately there are quite a few posts in the area. I, however, am able to put on a brave face. I am used to Caroline and her expectations. And after grabbing a stack of posters and a stapler, we're off.

"I wanna use the staple gun!"

"You're too little," I tell him, ignoring his pouting. "You'll hurt yourself."

"You'll hurt yourself." he mimics in a high pitched voice.

I sigh and throw my head back. I'm not ready to deal with this for the next few hours. "Fine," I say, his face lighting up instantly, "But this isn't a toy! Watch me first, and if you mess around with it I'm taking us straight home. I don't care if I need to deal with an upset Caroline, I'll do it, understood?" Kieron nods his head quite seriously and I know he's properly listening.

I show him how to use the staple gun safely and properly, and to only have his finger over the trigger when he's got everything lined up. And it actually makes the process a bit easier. Half an hour in and we've got a good process going. With Kieron on my shoulders, me handing each poster up to him, him stapling the top of the posters to the post, me stapling the bottom ends to the post, we're able to get this job done quite quickly. Plus, Kieron is able to give me a heads-up when -

"Tyler!"

And his weight leaves my shoulders as he is pulled backwards, laughing uncontrollably as Tyler holds him upside down.

"Be careful, mom will kill me if you crack his skull open," I warn Tyler.

"Relax," he says, flipping Kieron upright with a laugh, "I'd never hurt my best bud, ain't that right?"

"Haha, Skye, Tyler is my best bud!" my little brother grins at me, sticking his tongue out.

"Is that right?" I say, not liking the sudden gang up. And then an idea pops into my head. "Hey, Tyler, wanna hang with Kieron for like half an hour? I'm almost done putting up these posters, we're going for ice cream after?"

Tyler waves his hand in dismissal. "Say no more, message me when you're done." And he and Kieron runoff, picking up a football on the way that Tyler must have dropped on the way. I let out a sigh of relief, rolling back my stiff shoulders. He might be small and light, but after a while, it's still gonna hurt.

But then as I'm stapling another poster up, a pair of hands start rubbing my shoulder, and considering the only person I can guess that would be molesting me jokingly in public is babysitting my little brother right now, I'm feeling a little bit in danger.

I spin round and once again come face to face with Damon Salvatore, his signature smirk in place and everything.

"Damon?" I say, and want to hit myself realising I said it in the same way I did in the damn dream. Thankfully my voice didn't go through a third, lesser-known, version of puberty.

"Hello, Skye, how are you doing?" he asks, as if he's never done a single thing wrong in my life, and something tells me that just isn't true.

"Fine now, thanks," I reply, not turning away from him just yet to continue with the poster business. "Don't take offence to this, but you shouldn't really be grabbing and touching people you don't really know, it might make them a bit uncomfortable."

"Oh, so it's okay for you to do it but not me?" he says, and I try my best to stop the blush reaching my face, realising what he was suggesting. "I wasn't even that inappropriate."

"Okay," I laugh, turning back around the finish putting that poster up. "Fair enough, you make a good point. I'm sorry about the other night, I thought I had apologised for that already?"

Damon shrugs, moving around so I could see him out of the corner of my eye as I work. "You did, but it's fun to tease you."

I roll my eyes, "Of course it is." I then take a look at what he's wearing and gape. "I'm sorry, how are you wearing a leather jacket in this weather? It is roasting!"

"I don't feel the heat as much as others, a family trait, doesn't make me any less hot, though."

I laugh. "That was _bad_ and you know it."

"Yeah, it was, wasn't it?" Damon says, a smile creeping on his face, a huge difference to the smirk. "So, I take it you'll be watching the comet tonight?"

"That's right," I say, moving along to the next post, not really caring whether he follows along or not. He's Stefan's brother so as ridiculously hot as he is, I kind of don't want to mess up the relationship between Elena and Stefan, especially because they're still in the early stages. Then again, Stefan was a bit of a dick to us yesterday. I turn my head and see Damon is still with me, so I ask, "What was up with Stefan yesterday?"

Eyebrows raise in slight shock. "Well," Damon begins, "If you can't tell, we don't exactly get along."

I press on, hoping to get some good info out of him. "And why is that?"

Damon shakes his head slightly from side to side, "Isn't it always the same thing? A girl."

"A girl?" I repeat. "Wait, did you two date the same person at one point?" Damon nods his head, gazing off into the distance. Oh. Now that's pretty rough. I feel bad for them both now. Either way, one of them got cheated on, and the other one was pretty much strung along. My heart breaks trying to imagine how close they must have been to be so uncomfortable around each other now. I quickly get back to work though, not wanting to lag behind. "I'm sorry."

Damon whips his head around. "What?" he asks quietly, staring right at me.

This is uncomfortable...

I shrug my shoulders, continuing to staple. If I just keep stapling then nothing is gonna get awkward, right? "Well," I say, beginning my probably dumb explanation, "It must have hurt, having feelings for a girl who also had feelings for your brother. The betrayal you must have felt...I'm sorry." Damon looks pretty dumbstruck and thankfully I only have two posters left. "Anyway! Hopefully, I'll see you later tonight for the comet, bye!"

What a rushed exit, I hope he didn't sense how bloody nervous I was. What a mess. I pretty much stick the last two posters to the same post just on different sides before heading back towards the centre of town. I message Tyler that I'm done, asking him where he and Kieron are and just receive back _'Grill_' in response.

So, I arrive at the Grill to see Tyler showing Kieron how to play pool, it would probably be better if he could properly reach over the table but it's nothing a stool can't fix. I see over in the corner Elena's little brother Jeremy and Vicki! She's out of the hospital, that's great. I should check up on her before I go to take Kieron out for ice cream. In fact, we could probably just eat and get ice cream here. Huh, always end up at the Mystic Grill in this town.

"Hey, guys, how's it going?" I say to the two boys, hardly playing the game properly at this point, but Kieron is laughing so I guess that's all that matters.

I catch up on what the two have been up to while I've been gone, I avoid what I've been up to, more like who I ended up having a talk with. I give Kieron some money to get some juice from the bar, allowing Tyler and I to rerack the game. It's as we're doing this that I hear Tyler curse beside me. He's glaring over towards the corner and I look over just in time to see Jeremy passing Vicki some pills.

What the hell?

"What is he doing?" I ask, unable to look away. "He's fifteen, why is he dealing? How is he dealing?"

Tyler is seething beside me. "I don't know."

I put a hand on his shoulder to try and calm him but he shakes it off. "Ty, hey. Don't worry about it. We can talk to Elena and Matt about this after, okay? Don't get all hissy on me before we start playing."

He sends me a very unamused look before taking the first shot, breaking and sending one ball flying into the pocket. Well, if he's off to a good start maybe his mood will improve.

The three of us end up only ordering some ice cream before going out to watch the comet. We get some half-decent seats, meeting up with everyone else. Caroline passes out some candles and we all light them up as we watch the comet flying by. Kieron seemed to be enjoying it a bit more than he thought he would, pretty mesmerised by it. At least he was distracted. It got a bit colder, and I forgot to grab him a jacket, so Matt threw him over to keep him warm.

"You're the best brother ever, Matty," I tell him, laughing at how drenched Kieron looked in the denim jacket.

"Don't worry about it," Matt replies, "I know."

Halfway through the night, Stefan shows up and ends up talking to Elena for a bit. I don't know what they talk about, but hopefully, they come to some sort of understanding. They seem good together, and it would be a shame for them to end so suddenly, so soon. Matt looks at bit peeved about them being together, and as great as he is, he really needs to get over it. It isn't healthy to hold onto the past, I'm sure he'll get to a better place eventually.

Once it gets to the point where I can't stand the cold anymore, and Kieron refuses to share Matt's jacket, our group makes our way back to the Grill. I order some food for Kieron and me, telling Tyler off for stealing my fries and stuffing his face. The group's conversations turn to school, the upcoming first game of the year, and everything in between. Caroline tells us about what's she's got planned for the first practice back at cheerleading, sending pointed looks to Elena and I. The two of us share a scared glance.

Pointed looks from Caroline are something to be feared, it means she has something planned for you, and if you aren't up to par, then you're in trouble.

Jeremy appears a little later, coming up to our table looking a little shakey, "Hey, have any of you seen Vicki?"

"No, sorry," I say, seeing everyone else shake their head.

"Why don't you tell us, pill pusher," Tyler says, continuing to finish his food, "You're her stalker."

Elena gapes, "Pill pusher?"

"You're sooo cool, Tyler," Jeremy says, completely ignoring Elena's comment.

"Yeah? And you're a punk," Tyler says, getting easily more agitated, "She'll never go for you, you know."

"Know what? She already has," Jeremy revealed, "Over, and over, and over again."

I blinked in shock, thankful Kieron had earphones in and was listening to music instead of this conversation. This was a bit too TMI for me.

"Wait, you had sex with Vicki Donovan?" Caroline clarified, highly interested in this brand new information, "I mean, Vicki Donovan had sex with you?"

"Yeah," Jeremy confirmed, having apparently no shame revealing this information with his big sister present. For god sake, he's fifteen, that isn't legal is it? "And you know what? I didn't even have to force her."

A pregnant pause, a very awkward silence.

He's staring straight at Tyler so we know exactly who that comment was directed at. But, surely not. No way. I've known Tyler my whole life, and that is a very bold, very life-destroying accusation. Surely not.

"What's he talking about, Ty?" I ask, but he doesn't look at me.

"What's with the pill pusher?" Elena repeats, looking more upset than before.

Matt steps in, "Hey, how about we find my sister?"

And we're all getting up, I nudge Kieron and get him moving, filling him in on what we're all doing. He takes out his earphones and we take to the streets. It's a lot darker now, but there's still plenty of people out, plenty of people we have to walk past, and plenty of places to check. Where would Vicki go? Obviously nowhere that she usually would be if Jeremy can't find her. So, best check everywhere.

I keep a hold of Kieron's hand, not wanting to have to look for two people, and I feel him yank me backwards slightly. He points upwards and my heart drops. I look up towards where he's pointing and see Vicki standing on the roof.

I'm torn between telling Kieron to run off back to the Grill and let me deal with this myself, not wanting him present if things go wrong, but I also know I can't leave him on his own, my parents would kill me - I would kill me - if something happened to him.

So I'm stood there, staring, unable to look away.

I feel hopeless, I don't know what to do!

And then I see them, the Salvatore brothers.

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**Word Count: 3,582  
****Proofread?: Nah, this was pretty rushed lmao**

**Yeah, it was a bit of a filler this chapter, which is why it was a bit shorter than the last couple chapters, but at least it was quick. The second half of this episode, not a lot happens that could probably be viewed by Skye so, here we are.**

**Now, remember! All reviews are welcome! It is free to review today, any time! Have at it!**

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	6. Chapter 6 - Football

**WOW, even more pretty positive reviews? I'm shocked, really. Wasn't sure how this chapter was gonna go, seeing as I don't really plan much whoops, but it hopefully goes alright.  
But this is my longest chapter yet! Remember, don't keep your opinions to yourself, reviews are gold!**

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Stefan looks shocked to see me and Kieron standing by the doors of the building he and Vicki were just on, but is thankful for the help to escort her back to the Grill. I messaged Matt and everyone else who was searching for her along the way. However, I didn't see Damon leave, which is odd because I'm sure I saw the two of them on the roof.

Then again, I don't know what I saw, I was pretty far away... I don't ask Stefan for clarification though. The two of them don't get along, and I don't want to somehow get in some unnecessary drama between them.

I make sure Matt reconnects with Vicki before taking off with Kieron. Caroline offers us a lift for everything we did today, but considering our mom was already on her way over, I declined the request, telling her to message me when she got home safe. I get a message from Bonnie saying she's taking Elena to school tomorrow and asks if I also want a lift, so I guess I don't need to get the bus tomorrow which I am not complaining about.

Mom comes soon enough, and we tell her about our night. Kieron is exhausted from the events, yawning in the backseat, while Mom shakes her head when I tell her Vicki went missing.

"That girl, I swear, she really needs to learn to take care of herself," she says, smiling at me slightly, "Thank goodness your little brother doesn't have to take care of you, or else we would be in trouble." Kieron being half asleep already doesn't comment on that, and allowing the rest of the drive home to be quite calm.

Heading in, and getting ready, I hear on the radio downstairs about another one of the town's recent animal attacks. You'd think folk would stop camping out in the forest where there have been loads of attacks, but I guess that didn't stop them. It is strange how it's all just suddenly started though.

A tapping sound at my window catches my attention and I move closer to it cautiously, ready to defend my home from any intruders, ninja or otherwise, but it's only a crow. I breathe a sigh of relief, continuing to pack my bag and get everything ready for tomorrow, it takes me a while but I do eventually find my cheer uniform. I contemplate trying it on just to see if it still fits, but that can be a tomorrow issue, I'm not ready for my self-conscious ass to not get any sleep tonight.

The crow is still there when I come out of the bathroom after brushing my teeth, and I'm put a bit on edge by it. This is surely some sort of omen. I should ask Bonnie to ask her Grams or something. First at the boarding house, now at my own house? I'm not keen on this. I close the blinds, and turn off the light, ready for bed after a stressful day.

* * *

_You have got to be kidding me, another dream? Is it something I've been eating? Something they're putting in the water?_

_There's laughter though, happy laughter, so I guess this shouldn't be a bad dream. And then I'm running around an open field, and the sight before me is beautiful. Sun in the sky, not a cloud in sight, the grass is long and green, there are even flowers dotting about the place. And it's just as I'm about to go towards the lake in front of me, that I'm off my feet, being twirled around in the air._

_"Put me down!" I seem to yell, and wow I sound young and annoying, kind of like how my brother can sound._

_The boy holding me seems to be having a jolly good time, not willing to put me down yet. "Say you admit defeat!"_

_"Never!"_

_And then I'm suddenly dropped and I turn to see a goddamn monster. He's huge, and the boy who had had a hold of me a moment again was cowering as the man was hitting him, over, and over, and over again. And all I can do is cry._

_Until I get up and run, as fast as my feet can carry me, guilt eating me alive with each step. The scenery is no longer this beautiful day, but it's now dark and I'm in a forest, it's dark and sounds are all around me not stopping, getting louder and louder, and my breathing is getting harder, and I fall down with a scream._

* * *

I sit up quickly with a gasp, taking a few deep breaths to try and calm down. Oh come on, why can't I just have a nice dream for once? I put a hand on my forehead and feel a thin layer of cold sweat. For some reason, I check out the window to see if the crow is still there. It isn't. Glancing at the clock on my bedside table, I see it's early, and I have plenty of time to wash my hair.

Getting ready, drying my hair, I see Kieron glancing into my room in confusion, probably wondering how I'm up before him. His hair sticks up at the side making him look funny. I stick my tongue out at him, and he walks away with a bored expression on his face.

I let my hair down today, considering I washed and straightened it, but I grab a couple of hair ties for practice later. It's another nice day outside, but it hopefully isn't going to be another day filled with drama, I think after these last few days, I've had enough drama for a while.

It's as I'm finishing off breakfast that I get a message from Bonnie letting me know she's just picked up Elena and is on her way, meaning I have probably about five minutes to get my bag and head out the door.

The ride to school is filled with talk of Stefan. Elena filling us in on how she went over to Stefan's last night and they ended up kissing! I think they might officially be going out now.

"Yes! Good for you, girl!" I cheered from the back seat, leaning forward to give her a hug around her seat. "Get in there!"

But then, it takes a turn when Bonnie starts expressing her concerns. She suddenly doesn't seem to keen on our newest resident despite originally liking him so much.

"What do you mean, I thought you liked Stefan?" I said, "I mean, he managed to find Vicki last night, he's stopped wearing sunglasses indoors, he's good in my books now."

"Yeah," Elena agrees as Bonnie parks the car at school, "You were the one telling me to go for it, what changed?"

Bonnie sighs, getting out the car. "Look, I'm not saying don't date the guy, I'm just saying, take it slow."

I look between Elena and Bonnie with a bit of confusion. What changed in Bonnie's attitude? She was the first one to think he was a swell guy, Elena even said it was her that gave Stefan her number so the two of them could start texting.

It's then that I realise that Caroline didn't message me last night, she is usually quite good at messaging people, letting them know she gets home safe, especially since her mom is the Sheriff and works all the time. I quickly send out a few SOS messages to Caroline in hopes she'll respond.

"Oh, and I am so that girl," Elena says sarcastically, and I've missed something.

"What?" I ask.

Bonnie rolls her eyes, "I'm just saying, first time single in high school, maybe try playing the field for a bit?"

"Ha!" I laugh lightly, "Sorry Bonnie, but I think we both know that Elena isn't like that." The look of defeat on Bonnie's face suggests that there's maybe something else bothering her. "Okay, what's really up?"

"What do you mean?" she asks, clearly trying to avoid this conversation now.

"Yeah, come on, tell us," Elena pleads, "Please?"

"Okay, fine," Bonnie concedes with a sigh, "It sounds so stupid...but when I gave him your number last night, I accidentally touched him, and I got this really bad feeling."

Elena and I continue looking at Bonnie for a moment, but she doesn't continue.

"Is that it?" Elena says, asking the thing we're both wondering.

"It was really, really bad guys," she says.

And then the man, the myth, the legend himself appears before us. Stefan Salvatore, in all his glory. "Morning Elena," he says with a smile, then turns to Bonnie and me, "Morning Bonnie, Skye."

"Morning, Stefan, how's it going?" I say.

Bonnie goes for a different approach, "I'm gonna go call Caroline before class, she hasn't been answering my messages."

Stefan makes a bit of a disappointed face as we watch her walk away quickly. "She doesn't like me much, does she?"

"She just doesn't know you," Elena tries to excuse.

"Don't take any offence, but I don't feel like third-wheeling just yet, so I'm also gonna take off," I tell the couple, making Elena roll her eyes, "I'll see you's in class!"

And I'm on the hunt for a friend considering I don't know where Bonnie ran off to so quickly. Yeah, I don't really understand why she doesn't like Stefan anymore. If Elena is happy with him, especially after the whole boarding house scenario, then I'm happy for her. But if Bonnie actually knows something that might make Stefan untrustworthy then well, hopefully, that isn't the case...

I spot Tyler, Matt and Ryan in the distance, passing a football back and forth. Before Matt can catch it, completely lost in the game, I hop in between and snatch the ball out of the air. "Good morning!"

"Morning, Skye," Matt says, and I pass the ball back into his awaiting arms.

I turn to Tyler, "You and me? We gotta have a talk." Tyler's eyes widen a bit, probably knowing we're gonna be talking about what happened last night.

"Ohh, you're in trouble," Ryan laughs from the side.

"You, shut it!" Tyler and I both yell at him in unison, each of us pointing a finger at him. This would be a hilarious reaction if not for the severity of the situation.

Tyler glances over my shoulder and decides to be a bit of a dick instead of giving me any proper response. "Oh look, there's Elena walking with her new boyfriend, yeah, they're walking, and walking, right off into the sunset."

"You're a dick," Matt tells him, trying to ignore the couple to his left.

"Yeah?" Tyler says, laughing, "And you're standing here like some garden troll."

"Gnome," Matt corrects. "What do you expect me to do, huh?"

"Well," Tyler starts and snatches the football from the air like I had done only moments again.

"Ty, don't!" I tell him, seeing Stefan in the distance, facing away from us. There's no way Stefan won't get smacked on the back of the head, and getting hit with one of those things hurts! Especially when you're not expecting it.

But Tyler doesn't listen. "Watch this," he says, before throwing the ball.

And it flies through the air, it's a shame how good a throw it was, considering it's meant to hurt him. I shove Tyler after that, hardly moving him, but it makes me feel slightly better. But then the impossible happens.

Stefan turns around and quickly manages to catch the ball. And we're all staring in shock, gobsmacked. And he throws it back to Tyler, who catches it but gets slightly winded afterwards. Everyone around us stares on in shock, not expecting that at all.

Wow, I didn't know Stefan played football.

And after that moment of shock, I start laughing, turning around and smacking Tyler's arm. "Dude! You totally just got owned!"

He wasn't happy with that, and that's how I found myself upside down and getting threatened to be dropped on the ground.

"Don't you dare, Ty!"

"Say you're sorry!"

"Matt! Help!"

"Admit defeat!"

"Tyler!"

And then the bell rings and thankfully back upright on my feet. The whole way to class I'm hitting and yelling Tyler, who doesn't seem bothered in the slightest, laughing slightly when Tanner gives me into trouble for abusing the boy, but I'm having none of it. He has royally pissed me off this morning. But then again, that scenario out in the courtyard was just a bit too familiar to my dream... I'm sure it's just a coincidence, right?

All is well throughout the school day, that is until, of course, Tanner Time.

"Glad to see you're no longer abusing Mr Lockwood now, Miss Hampton," he comments as the pair of us walk in.

"Just emotionally now, sir," Tyler comments making me hit his arm _again_ as he laughs.

"Please refrain from any further violence in class, or else I'll have to sign you up for detention," Tanner says, watching as Tyler and I make faces at each other before sitting down. He sighs before starting to write on the board.

It isn't long before more people walk in, and class begins. Tanner Time, here we come.

"Pearl Harbor, does anyone know when?" Tanner asks the class and is met with silence in response. Please don't pick me. "Miss Hampton?"

I shake my head. "Don't know, sorry."

"Not good enough, Hampton," he replies and I roll my eyes in response, thankfully not getting caught as he starts paying attention to Elena and Stefan's flirting.

"Miss Gilbert?" Tanner says, making Elena turn around, "Pearl Harbor?"

She takes a moment to think, and we know she doesn't know the answer when Stefan pipes up, "December 7th, 1941."

"Thank you, Miss Gilbert!" Tanner says sarcastically, putting emphasis on the name and getting a chuckle out of the class.

Stefan nods his head. "Anytime," he replies.

And thus the battle begins. "Very well," Tanner says, starting a challenge. "The fall of the Berlin Wall?"

"1989," Stefan replies easily, and I'm impressed. "I'm good with dates, sir."

And then the true battle begins, something I've never witnessed before. Something I don't think I'll ever witness again.

"Keep it to the year," Tanner tells Stefan who nods, challenge accepted. "Civil Rights Act."

"1964."

"John F. Kennedy assassination."

"1963."

"Martin Luther King."

"1968."

Tanner is getting agitated now, and I'm surprised he isn't more impressed because Stefan is doing good. Like, really good.

"Lincoln."

"1865."

"Roe vs. Wade."

"1973."

"Brown vs. Board."

"1954."

"The Battle of Gettysburg."

"1863"

"Korean War."

"1950 to 1953."

"Ha!" Tanner yelled, quite childishly if you ask me, pointing a victory finger at Stefan. "It ended in '52!" And Tanner turns back to the board, and wow, that was epic.

But Stefan isn't finished, "Ugh, actually, sir, it was '53."

His insistence causes Tanner to lose it slightly, telling the whole class to look it up. And so we're opening our books but last second I decide to open up my phone and quickly search it up and make the announcement as it loads. "It was 19...53." I grin as Tanner's face falls, and the class starts applauding Stefan's victory. The bell rings, so Tanner doesn't have time to give out punishment homework and is free from humiliation.

I quickly pack up my bags and catch up to Stefan and Elena as they walk out, catch them by surprise. "Stefan! That was epic! I've never seen Tanner get Tannered like that before, you're officially the best thing that's ever happened to this school!" Stefan laughs, and Elena agrees, and I leave them to have a little cute moment.

At lunch, I grab Tyler before he can escape and make him sit with me while we eat so we can finally talk shop. Yeah, he doesn't look too happy about what's happening, but we have to do it.

"What's this about, Skye?" he asks, trying to speed this along it seems, "I wanted to get some extra practice in with Matt before practice later."

"Let Matt eat his food in peace," I say, taking a bite out my apple, "Now, what was Mini-Gilbert talking about yesterday."

Tyler rolls his eyes, "You've seen him, he's a punk, and he's dealing. Who knows what's wrong with him."

"Ty," I say more seriously, making him stop. "I know you, and I personally don't think you could do what Jeremy was accusing you of. But you sure as hell better tell me what happened to make him think that."

"Or what?"

"Or he might start trying to spread it throughout the whole school?" I say, "And if he's lying, he's really trying to fuck you over and needs to have a serious talk through with Elena, with their aunt. As you said, he's a punk, he probably doesn't understand how serious the implications of this are. Come on, Ty, you're my best friend, please talk to me."

A few moments of silence go by, and I can see Tyler thinking it through, no longer eating his food from the cafeteria. He sighs, and a sense of relief fills me when I realise he's going to talk.

"In my defence, I was really drunk at the time, and I wasn't going to push it any further anyway, but Gilbert caught me and Vicki in the woods the night of the bonfire before she got hurt," explains Tyler, a look of regret on his face. "I realised she really didn't want to do anything out there and was going to back off right after, I swear, but then Jeremy came and he pissed me off, and maybe if I'd realised sooner that she wasn't into it then she wouldn't have gotten so hurt."

I take a moment to process the information, and the sincerity coming from Tyler. I nod my head, "Okay, does she know?"

"What?" he asks.

"Does Vicki know you're sorry? And more importantly, are you two okay?"

"Yeah," Tyler says, "Yeah, we made up last night, we're good."

"I'm sorry about going off on you earlier," I apologise, feeling guilty now, "I know you'd never actually do something like that, but I just wanted to know why Jeremy would say something like that. Man, he's turned into a bit of a dick these days, hasn't he?"

"Yeah, he has."

"Kind of like you, huh?"

"Shut it," Tyler laughs, and I know we're good.

After that painful but necessary conversation, we finish our lunch before heading over to the football field where we toss a ball back and forth for a while. I'm not the best at throwing it, to be honest, but it's still fun. The rest of school goes by smoothly, I've somehow been able to keep up with the work so far, yes it's only the first week but handing in homework on time has always been a bit of a struggle for me.

And then it's time for cheerleading practice, and Caroline hasn't been in school all day. And she hasn't answered my texts nor Bonnie's.

"Where do you think she is?" Bonnie asks.

"I dunno," I reply, stretching on the grass, "Do you think she's sick?"

"She was fine last night," she replied, getting down to stretch beside me, "We didn't even drink, and she would have sent a text already."

Neither of us wants to message her mom to make her worry if she was fine, or if she was ditching school for some other reason and accidentally snitch on her, but I think Bonnie and I can come to the mutual understanding that if Caroline doesn't show to cheer practice after how excited she was for it yesterday that we should involve her mom. Caroline might not want that, but her safety and knowing she's alright is more important than what she wants. Especially with all the necessary drama that's been going on lately.

And then Elena Gilbert appears, in the flesh!

"You're here!" the two of us cheered, "You made it!"

"What're you talking about?" Elena asks me, smiling, "You quit same time as me."

I shrug my shoulders, acting all coy. "Well, now we're back!"

"That we are," she agrees, "It's no time to be the sad girl anymore."

"No, it is not," Bonnie agrees with an encouraging smile.

"By the way, you two are coming to dinner tonight," Elena says to us, beginning to stretch. "Me, you two, and Stefan."

Bonnie's once happy face falls. Ugh oh, she doesn't look too keen on that. "Tonight's no good," she says, obviously lying, "plus, where is Caroline?"

"Don't change the subject, Bonnie Bennet," Elena says, "Come on, give him a chance, please?"

"Yeah," I say, hoping to sweeten the deal, "I'll be there too, ready to break up any awkward silences."

Elena indicates towards me, "See? You even have a backup."

Bonnie gives in. "Fine," she says. Elena and I grin at each other in victory. I'm all for team Stefan and Elena right now.

I get up and grab my empty water bottle, asking if anyone else needed theirs filled, before going to the outdoor water fountain next to the bleachers. As I'm waiting for the water to fill up, I just happen to look over and see Stefan, the man himself, looking quite longingly towards the football field where the team is currently practising.

Speaking of practice, I think it's time I put my pep talk through some practice of its own.

"Hey, Stefan," I say as I approach him climbing up the stairs.

"Hey, Skye," he replies, "Aren't you supposed to be at practice?"

I shrug before sitting next time him, "Yeah but Caroline hasn't shown up yet, she's late which is really weird, not like her at all... But, that gives me the chance to come up and talk to you about something."

He suddenly looks kind of nervous, "Oh?"

"Yeah," I say, "Listen, I know Tanner is a major dick and you've knocked him on his ass a few times already this week, but with how good you are at football, he'd be an idiot not to let you on the team."

"It's half-way through the season, and as you said, he's not exactly my biggest fan," Stefan says, looking back towards the field, "He probably won't let me play."

"Just ask him for a chance to try out, you weren't even at the school during tryout season!" I insist, "Come on, a miracle might happen and you might actually end up on the team. It would be a good way to get to know Matt and Tyler too."

Stefan chuckles, "Yeah, they're not exactly fans of me either."

"Not yet, they don't know you. I can vouch for them, they're good guys, you just gotta break down Tyler's ego and you're good. Give Matt some time to realise him and Elena are not likely to happen anytime soon and you'll be good with him too."

A nod of the head and Stefan stands up, grabbing his back. "Alright, you've convinced me. I'll see if Tanner will let me try out."

I jump from my seat with a cheer, "Yes! Go for it, Stefan!" I watch him shake his head with a smile before running off down the steps to go talk to Tanner. I look over to where all the girls are still stretching, or just sitting on the grass, no Caroline insight.

"Is she still not here yet?" I ask Bonnie and Elena when I reach them.

"No," Bonnie says, trying to contact her on her phone, "She still isn't picking up."

I hear loud music in the near distance, looking up I see the sexy car that almost ran me over the other day, with none other than Damon Salvatore driving our girl Caroline Forbes in the front seat.

"No way," I mutter.

"It must be the mystery guy from the Grill," Bonnie says.

Elena shakes her head, standing up, "That's no mystery guy, that's Damon Salvatore."

"Salvatore?" Bonnie asks, "As in, Stefan?"

"His older brother," I clarify, watching as Caroline gives him a kiss before hopping out the vehicle. Man, that must have been a sweet ride. I mean, look at it! With the top rolled down and everything, on a nice day like this? Living the dream, honestly.

Caroline practically skips over, saying to Elena as she passed by, "I got the other brother, hope you don't mind." That made me roll my eyes slightly, she could be really childish sometimes. "Sorry I'm late girls, I was occupied."

"Care," I said, grabbing her arm and making her face me, "You didn't message me last night, this morning, we were worried."

"Yeah, sorry," she says, taking off her sunglasses, "As I said, I was busy."

"And you didn't come up for air at any point during the last, what, 14 hours?" I asked, genuinely a little pissed. "It takes two seconds to send a damn message to someone to tell them you're okay."

"Alright, mom, get into position."

I glared at her as she got the music set up, fuming as I turned around and got into position. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Bonnie and Elena's worried looks but I ignore them. I have the right mind to just get my stuff and go home before heading to Elena's later, but no. I'm not going to give her the satisfaction of knowing she's pissed me off that much.

It didn't help that she was being extra bitchy towards Elena for no apparent reason, sending her to the back to watch when she was just starting to get the hang of it. Later during practice, when it came to doing stunts, it didn't help that Caroline didn't want lots of people spotting despite this being the first practice back. I almost broke my leg if it hadn't been for Bonnie!

Overall, the practice was a bust and I was glad when it was over.

* * *

"Thanks, Mom!" I say to her before closing the car door and walking up to Elena's house. A knock on the door later, and I'm admitted access to her house.

"You didn't need to bring anything," Elena said when I handed her the lasagne my mom had pre-made.

"Mom didn't want me coming empty-handed, she said if you've got enough food already to just give us the dish back whenever."

Turns out we did have enough food already, and Elena was just putting it in pretty bowls to give the illusion of fine cuisine. "You're not fooling anyone by putting it in a fancy bowl, Elena," Bonnie told her.

Elena rolled her eyes, instead opting to look for "Serving spoons, where are the serving spoons?"

"Middle drawer on your left," Bonnie says without looking up from what she was doing. Lo and behold, there they were when Elena opened the drawer.

"Nice," I commented.

"Okay, but you've been in this kitchen a thousand times," Elena said, seemingly trying to downplay something. What were they discussing before I showed up?

"What's going on?" I hesitantly ask.

Then the bell rings, and that must be Stefan.

"Nothing," Elena says quickly, "Okay, he's here. Just be your normal loving self, yeah?"

And she walks away to answer the door, leaving me and Bonnie alone in the kitchen. I watch as Bonnie closes her eyes for a moment, muttering the words "birthday candles" before opening a drawer and finding birthday candles inside.

"Okay, that's a really cool party trick, how are you doing that?"

Now, when Stefan first arrived and we were all setting the table and getting all the food onto our plates, everything was fine, good even. But then I, unfortunately, took a moment to go to the bathroom and came back to absolute silence. God, I can't leave these people alone to handle things for five minutes, huh.

"So, what were we talking about?" I asked coming into the room, taking my seat beside Bonnie.

"How Tyler tried to knock me out earlier," Stefan said, trying to make light of the situation.

"Ah yes, let me tell you, he was not happy about that," I said, grinning ear to ear, "Was pretty funny, actually." Taking a bite of my food, and a moment to chew, no one spoke. Wow, nothing to add guys? Okay. "Alright, let's get to know each other, Bonnie goes first because, you know, alphabetical order and stuff."

"What do you want me to say?" Bonnie asked, sort of uncomfortable with the attention being on her.

Elena thankfully chimes in, "Tell Stefan about your family."

She shrugs, still pretty uncomfortable. "Mom and dad are divorced, live with my dad."

"No, not that," Elena said, "I was talking about the witches."

And I swear I've not seen Stefan look so interested in something that wasn't Elena all night. "Witches?" he asked.

"Bonnie's family has a lineage of witches and it's really cool," Elena insisted.

Bonnie seemed to disagree, "I wouldn't call it cool." Elena didn't look too happy with her not very cooperative attitude.

"Well, it's certainly interesting. I'm not too well-versed," Stefan, the history geek, starts, "But I do know there's a history of Celtic druids that migrated here in the 1800s.

"My family came by way of Salem," Bonnie says in response, making Stefan's eyebrows shoot up towards his hair.

"Salem? Really?" he says, "I would say that's pretty cool."

"Why's that?" she asks.

"Salem witches are heroic examples of individualism and non-conformity," he explains. And with a growing grin from Bonnie, I think the boy is managing to win her over, slowly but surely.

Bonnie smiles quite proudly, "Yeah, they are."

I grin happily, glad that the rest of the night is set to go off without any more awkward silences. And then the doorbell rings. And the mood instantly changes when Caroline and Damon walk through the door with dessert. I almost drop the plate I'm washing up at the sink because this is just great. We finally got the good vibes going and then trouble walks in through the door.

We all kind of rush through dessert, moving swiftly to the living room with drinks. I poured myself a generous amount of vodka in my drink because I just have a feeling I'm gonna need it. I'm also glad Bonnie is here because being a third wheel is one thing but being the fifth wheel just hurts at that point.

"Oh! Tyler must be seething! Please tell me he was, Skye," Caroline says, sitting beside Damon on one of the seats at the side. Elena and Stefan took the other sofa, Bonnie took the single-seat and I opted to sit on the floor beside Bonnie's seat, given it's the closest to the ground and furthest away from the unexpected duo.

"I didn't get a chance to talk to him after practice," I told her, still a bit upset from earlier but trying to hide it, "But I'm sure he was."

"Well, whatever, good for you for getting on the team Stefan," she replies.

I lift my drink up, "I'll drink to that."

"You're _drinking_ drinking?" Bonnie asks with a disapproving tone making me cringe slightly. "We've got the game tomorrow, Skye."

"I'm not going to go mad," I insist, "Plus, you're driving me home so," and I take another drink.

"Yeah," Bonnie says, "You need to get your drivers license, soon."

"It's a shame Elena wasn't as lucky today. It's only because you missed summer camp, but Skye still managed to keep up," Caroline rambled, "I don't know how you're going to learn the routines in time..."

"I'll work with her," Bonnie said.

"Yeah," I agreed, "We all will." I say that hoping Caroline will get the hint to back off and show a bit of support.

Caroline seems to be off in her own little world, "I mean, I guess we could put her in the back."

"You don't seem like the cheerleading type, Elena," Damon commented, hopefully, to try and diffuse the situation.

Before Elena can even get a word in, Caroline pipes up, "Oh it's just 'cause her parents died." And my jaw hits the floor. She did not just say that. "Yeah, she's totally going through a blah phase at the moment." This girl has seriously not just said that. "She used to be way more fun." And I think the stunned silence finally makes her realise what she just said. "And I say that with complete sensitivity."

That's it.

I down my drink and stand up. "Anyone for another drink? How about you help me out, yeah Caroline?" Not giving her the opportunity to say no, I head straight back into the kitchen, seething.

Caroline walks into the kitchen looking quite worried, and she should be. "What the fuck was that?" I ask.

"I-I don't know - "

"This is a new low, Care, even for you. There's no need for this passive-aggressive attitude when nothing's been done to you," I tell her, trying to keep my voice down so as not to disturb the others in the living room. "Later, get Elena and apologise to her."

"But - "

"Care, I love you, I do, and I'm not picking sides," I insist, "But the death of Elena's parents? Come on, use some sense."

Caroline sighs, looking quite guilty now. Good. I having to tell her off like a petulant child, but some lines you just don't cross. "You're right, I don't know what came over me. I'm sorry."

"It isn't me you need to apologise to."

"No, I mean, sorry for earlier. And for not messaging you last night to let you know I was okay," she continues. And biting her lip, she looks like she wants to say something else. "Speaking of which...can I talk to you?"

"Of course, you know I've got your back," I tell her, pouring myself another drink, a little less alcohol this time because wow downing it is starting to hit a little bit.

"Hey, you two," Damon says, appearing from the living room, glass empty, "What're we drinking?"

"Whose driving?" I ask them.

"I am," replies Caroline quite happily, which is unusual. "I'm going to head back." And that is also unusual. Caroline Forbes leaving her man alone with another girl? Something is slightly off about this whole situation.

But that's thoughts for later, I turn back to Damon, trying to keep neutral and not awkward around him, not knowing if Caroline knows he's the guy I made out with that pissed off Lana so much. "Well, I'm having vodka and cranberry. Wanna try some?"

He makes a face, "Sounds sweet."

"It is," I say and then take a sip. "But it's good." And I hold the glass out for him to try.

He takes the glass from my hand with disdain, swirling the contents of the glass as if it's some expensive drink before taking a sip and cringing. "Yeah, that's too sweet."

I laugh at his expression, taking the glass back from him and topping it back up again. "I take it you're more of a whiskey kind of guy then?"

"You guessed it."

"Well," I tell him, screwing the lid back on the vodka and grabbing my drink, "It's BYOB so if you don't have your own, you're gonna have to make do."

"Hold it," Damon says, bringing an arm up and not letting me get past. "You made me try that monstrosity - "

"I didn't make you do anything!"

" - so," he continued, "you're going to try this." And he takes the cap off an expensive-looking hipflask that he just so happened to have on him. He pours a bit into the glass and hands it to me, switching it with my own glass.

I can already smell the alcohol off of this and I cringe. God, this is gonna taste awful, isn't it... I quickly take a gulp and make a face at the taste. I place that glass down and pick up my own, taking a quick gulp of my own, nicer tasting drink to get rid of the taste.

Damon, laughing throughout all of this finishes the rest of the awful drink off, washing the glass and just getting himself some water. "Not a fan then?"

"How could you tell?"

* * *

The rest of the night, despite its rocky start, actually goes off without a hitch. Caroline even came in to help clean at the end, which is also unusual. She's been a bit off all day, maybe it's a full moon or something. I manage to talk to Elena about the Tyler and Jeremy situation, and she says she'll try and talk to him. Lord knows how that's gonna go but I'm sure she can handle it.

But it's as I'm about to head into the living room to double-check we've cleared up everything that I stumble across a pretty odd, concerning conversation that the brothers were having... I'm sure I just misheard some things. Yeah. My hearing is not known for being that good anyway.

But, of course, looking back, that was the straight-up denial talking.

However, right now, it's time to get ready for the first game back! A quick shower, some light makeup and I'm ready in no time at all, thankful that the uniform still fits. It may have been risky move not trying it on until it's time to go, but hey it all worked out fine, no need to worry!

Tyler comes by and picks me up, saying hi to my family and not helping my mom see that we aren't actually secretly dating, which is hilarious and only slightly annoying. We blast Queen in the car, getting hyped up for tonight's events. We go pick up Matt as well, I don't know where Vicki was but she wasn't at home so no carpool karaoke for her.

"Take it away, Matt!"

He's laughing, but he's also very embarrassed as he sings "Ohhh, baby!"

"Tyler!"

"Can't do this to me, baby!" Tyler sings, not as embarrassed due to how often we do this.

"Just gotta get out!" I sing, hitting the dashboard on the beat, "Just gotta get right out of here!"

And then it's the guitar solo, and we're hyping Matt up as he gives it his all! Tyler, the ever responsible driver, parks the car up just as the song comes to an end. And we all come off the high of Bohemian Rhapsody.

"Best song ever!" I declare, making no room for arguments.

Tyler laughs at me, "You might want to fix your hair."

"It's the rocker look, Ty, get with it," I tell him, but check the mirror and yikes that is a riot. "Well, I'm glad I brought a hair tie."

We head out and start helping set up tables with raffle prizes, drinks and snacks, the works. It gets busy pretty soon, and it isn't long before the bonfire is lit, and I'm shaking my pompoms with Caroline, Bonnie and the rest of the girls on the team. Elena decided to drop out last minute, understandably. Caroline was a bit upset but also felt guilty, feeling like she pushed her out the team which could be true, but I never said anything as such.

It was fun cheering again, but Tanner made this big speech about how he thinks we're finally going to have some winning games now that we have Stefan on our team, which is a bit of a shit thing to say in regards to the rest of the team. Way to make them feel like nothing. I can look over and see Tyler is getting a bit annoyed about the speech more so than the other guys on the team.

What worries me more is when he walks away from the crowd back towards the car park, and I don't know whether to go check on him, but figuring everything that's been going on lately it's probably best that I do. I quickly tell Bonnie where I'm going before pushing myself through the cheering crowd. Nice to know the cheer squad are doing a good job getting the crowd hyped.

Once I'm past the crowd I see Vicki trying to hold Tyler back as he and Jeremy start yelling at each other, again. Only this time, Tyler is already pissed off and Jeremy has been drinking. There's no way that it isn't going to kick off now.

"Ty, just think about what you're doing!" I call and then he punches Jermey and I guess he's been thinking about doing that for a while. "Stop it!"

Vicki's crying and Jeremy and Tyler are throwing and taking punches, one after the other. The crowd slowly begins to tune in to what's happening. Tyler manages to get on top of Jeremy and is not holding back. I wince, stuck between wanting to get involved and fear of getting hurt.

Fuck it.

"Tyler!" I yell, grabbing his arm as he swings back, trying to prevent him from hitting Jeremy again. "Enough! He's down!"

But he easily manages to snatch his arm back, making me stumble to the side, and hit him again. Stefan runs over and grabs him, this time managing to stop him, making him get up. And Tyler, who is still pissed at Stefan clearly, takes a swing and gets him in the gut. But Stefan doesn't react. How the -

I go again to grab Tyler realising what he's probably going to do, "Ty, don't!" He takes a swing at Stefan's face this time, but Stefan blocks him, pushing him out the way and I hiss in pain as I'm pushed to the ground as well. Looking up I see Stefan's face wince in pain, blood on his hand as he manages to deflect Jeremy's attack.

"Skye!" I hear Tyler say.

"What the hell, Jeremy?!" I hear Elena say.

I pull my hand off my right arm, already feeling the warm, sticky blood flowing through the wound. I cover up the cut again, putting pressure on the wound and all that. I look up and see Tyler fighting against Matt who was thankfully moving him away from continuing this fight. I don't want any more people getting hurt. Jeremy took it too far by using a weapon, my god.

"Enough! Break it up!" Tanner yells, parting the crowd. "Can everyone please move towards the bleachers, give us some time to clean up here." Thankfully, folk start moving out. He kneels beside me, "Miss Hampton, are you okay?" Trying my best not to cry in front of my teacher, I shake my head. "Okay, let's get this cleaned up. Come on, up you get."

He helps me to my feet and I look back to say that Stefan also needs medical attention, but see him showing his bare, clean hands to Elena, no blood, no wounds. What on earth...?

Tanner leads me towards the school gym where the medic kit is kept, cleaning the wound none too gently with wipes and wrapping it up. "You're lucky it wasn't a deep cut, could have been a lot worse," he said as he finished up. "And that's you. Remember to clean and change it regularly."

"Will do," I say, testing out how it feels to move. "Thanks, Tanner."

And we head back out towards the fields, ready for the game to start. But on the way, we happen to run into Stefan and Damon talking.

"Stefan!" Tanner calls, alerting them both to our presence, and for some reason that puts me on edge. "Come on, get your game face on!"

"If that's my humanity," I hear Damon tell Stefan, "then what is this?"

And I can't deny anything anymore when he suddenly appears beside me, I didn't even see him move. His pulls his face away from Tanner's neck and I freeze. Blood dripping down his face, but that wasn't the most terrifying thing believe it or not. His eyes, the veins around them, looked monstrous. And then I see fangs and I can't deny it any longer.

Vampires exist.

* * *

**Wordcount: 7,715  
Proofread?: Yeah actually so I'll be a bit peeved if there are mistakes...**

**OOFT I definitely could have kept going but I thought nah, let's have a mini cliffhanger. I hope this was okay! Again, you know the drill, let me know what you thought, good or bad, all criticism is encouraged! I wouldn't mind a little roast, just a little one though, to put my ego back in place.**

**Reviews, big or small, make a huge difference, legit.**

_And here I respond to ur messages!_

**Guest from Ch2 - Glad you like my OC! Thanks for your criticism and hints and tips! I'll try and use proper American lingo, it's weird using mom and instead of mum but I'll do my best lmao. And I'll keep in mind your suggestions the next time I'm integrating characters, hopefully I'll get better at it ^.^**

**Guest from Ch5 - Please don't apologise for long reviews, it literally made me so happy you won't believe! And yes, the vampire shenanigans are starting indeed! Skye's dreams are hopefully going to be quite important, especially in later chapters... I don't want to spoil all my plans, but I hope you stick around for the shenanigans!**


	7. Chapter 7 - Aftermath

**Oh wow, another day, another chapter, wonder what's going to happen now? If you can't tell while reading this, I had no plan for this at all. I promise I've planned later stuff but current stuff? Hm. Not so much.  
Warning, it's basically a filler chapter. But it came out quickly so? Hopefully makes up for it.**

* * *

Thud.

Tanner's body hits the floor.

I stand there staring at Damon, at the look of glee on his face. He says something to Stefan, but I don't hear it. I just have this ringing in my head that won't go away. But then he turns to look at me, my heart drops, and smirks. And he just walks away. I turn to look at Stefan, not wanting to look at the body beside me.

"Skye," he says quietly, approaching my slowly like I'm some sort of wild animal.

"Oh my god," I hear from behind me. Matt. "Somebody help!" And he runs to get someone, but I don't want to be left alone right not, not with Stefan, not with Tanner. Oh god, Tanner.

"Skye," Stefan says, now standing right in front of me, "Come on."

Shock is a strange thing, I don't know how long I've been sitting in the car for, I don't know how long it is until Stefan arrives at the boarding house, and I don't know how long I've been holding a warm mug of something for, but it brings me some comfort. Looking around, I begin to tune in to my surroundings. I'm in the Boarding House, the living room to be exact, sitting beside the blazing fire with a blanket placed over my shoulders, not sure who placed it over me. Hushed whispers off to the side draw my attention and I see Stefan and Zack talking.

Zack only shows up to the town's mandatory events, so I don't know him very well, but he does speak with my parents during these events and they seem to like him. I wonder, is he a vampire too?

Either way, he isn't happy. "Why did you bring her here?"

"I can't compel her," I hear Stefan tell him, "I'm not strong enough, and Damon just left her, I didn't know what else to do. She's in shock, she hasn't spoken for the last two hours."

Two hours huh? Yikes.

I take a sip of my drink, hot chocolate. Despite there being no mini marshmallows, it was nice, still a bit too hot to drink but the numb feeling it brought after gave me some form of comfort.

"Skye?" I turn and see Stefan. "How're you feeling?"

"Confused," I tell him after a pause.

"Do you know what you saw?" he asked, taking a seat across from me.

I take a moment to decide whether I should tell the truth or not, wondering what would work better in my favour. But I have a feeling he might be able to tell if I'm lying. "I know what I saw. I saw your brother kill our history teacher. He looked like a monster, he had fangs, and he drank his blood. He moved so quickly I didn't even blink before he was right next to me."

"Right," Stefan mutters, looking down. I think he was hoping I had forgotten or was still in denial.

"Are you..." I begin, not sure how to phrase this. "Are you also, like that?"

Stefan, still not looking at me, bites his lip, his hands clasping each other. "Yes," he says, almost ashamed, "I'm also a vampire."

"Is that why you wore shades indoors?" I ask without thinking. Stefan snorts in response, and I laugh a bit, realising what I just said. "Sorry."

"Don't be," he says, "Glad to know you're gonna be alright."

"Stefan? What did you mean by compel?" I ask nervously.

"Um," he starts, "Well, compelling is like manipulating someone's mind. Make people do things, make people forget things..."

"And you said you can't do that, why?"

"It's because I don't drink human blood," Stefan explains, "I don't feed on humans, I feed on animals instead. But that makes me weaker."

"Are you on a diet or something?" I ask, making him laugh again. "Sorry, I'm just trying to understand, you know?"

"No, I get it. I um, don't handle human blood well, let's just leave it at that," he says.

I nod my head in understanding, not really understanding at all but wishing I could. I'm so confused right now and all I want is to be able to stop my mind racing, and asking questions, no matter how dumb they are is really helping me.

"Okay," I say, feeling more like myself by the minute, "Can we go over some myths and stereotypes? How can you walk in the daylight? Can you read minds? What about garlic and holy water?"

"Well," Stefan says and brings up his ring which so happens to be the chunkiest piece of jewellery I've ever seen, "This ring is enchanted, allowing me to walk in the sun. Not all vampires have this, though, which is good for you. Garlic and holy water have no effect, and no I can't read minds."

"Could you though?"

"No."

"Good, at least I can be safe inside my mind," I say, smiling at the Spongebob reference, wondering if Stefan understood it. If you have all the time in the world to do anything, would you really sit and watch a cartoon show aimed at kids? That's going to be a conversation for later. "Anything else I should know?"

"Um, don't invite people into your house if you're not sure they're a vampire. Vampires can't step into your house without the permission of one of its residents," Stefan added. "So, unless you invite me or Damon in, we can't step over the threshold."

"Wait, how does that work for like hotels and stuff? How does that work for the boarding house? Did Zack have to invite both you and Damon in when you came back to town?"

"That..." Stefan starts and pauses, confusion appearing on his face. "Okay, that I'm not sure about."

"We should go on a road trip with everyone and try it out," I laughed.

Stefan smiles lightly, but the serious expression on his face makes me a bit worried. "Skye, you can't tell anyone about this. If the town council found out, they would try and have me killed."

I stop and blink in shock. "The town council know?"

"Yeah."

I gulp, "Well, ugh, my parents probably already know. It explains a lot, actually, never actually saying for folk to come into our house and all that..."

"Your parents are on the council?" Stefan says, clearly worried. I nod my head. "You can't let them know that you know."

"God, this is going to be like that Friends episode," I groaned, throwing my head back onto the sofa.

"It is, but seriously Skye you're going to have to keep this from them. Or else..." Stefan stops, biting his lip in thought.

"Or else...what?" I ask, wondering if I'm about to be threatened.

"I could try and get Damon to make you forget, and - "

"No way. Nope. Nuh-uh." I shake my head, "It ain't happening, Stef."

"Are you sure?" Man, he's really worried about this. Then again, it is literally life or death for him. "You can't tell anyone."

I pause, maybe starting to catch on to what he's really worried about. "Elena." Eyes blinking wide in shock. Bingo, we got him. "You're going to have to tell her at some point, Stefan. If you care about her as much as you seem to, she has to know."

"I know," he says, "And you're right, I will, I promise. Just not yet, I want to wait till the time is right."

"And when will that be?"

"...I don't know."

"Stefan." I groan, once again falling back onto the sofa. "This is some unnecessary stress I so didn't need..."

"Are you going to be okay, Skye?" Stefan says, genuine concern etched on his face.

"Yeah," I tell him, sitting up again. "I'm gonna be fine, I already feel a bit more myself already it's just..." And I can feel tears gathering already thinking about it. "...Tanner, oh god. He...do you think he's going to make it?"

Stefan cautiously places a hand on my shoulder, removing when I gave him a look that said please don't make this awkward, "Skye, he uh, he was already dead before..."

And I let the tears fall. No, I never particularly liked Tanner, no one in school really did, but still. He didn't deserve that. Nobody did. And then I can feel my heart in my chest beating faster looking back on the short time I have spent with Damon these past few days, realising that Caroline is still spending time with him. Oh god!

"Caroline!" I say suddenly, making Stefan look up in surprise. "We have to get her away from Damon, she's in danger." And I go to stand but get pushed gently back into my seat by Stefan.

"We can't," he says, looking quite guilty.

"And why not?" I demand.

"Because Damon will retaliate and probably do something much worse than what he is already!" Stefan explains, standing in frustration, not so much directed at me but at the situation in general.

"And what's he doing to her right now?" I ask, not sure if I wanted to know.

Stefan hesitates before saying one word. "Feeding."

And it takes me a second to grasp what he's saying. "He's using Care as a human blood bag?!" I say, also rising to my feet, blanket left on the couch. "I'm gonna kill him. No wonder she was acting so differently. How do you kill a vampire, Stef?"

"I'm not telling you that."

"Oh, come on!" I say, throwing my hands up, "I could take him."

Stefan takes a look at me, in all seriousness, before shaking his head.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I glare, crossing my arms over my chest. "I think I could do it."

"He's a good head taller than you, Skye," Stefan deadpans, "And don't even get me started on the super speed, super strength, super senses."

"Wait, why aren't you guys going out being superheroes if you have all these powers? What a waste, Stefan!"

And for the next half an hour, Stefan took the time to finish explaining all things supernatural related, making me realise Bonnie and her Grams are probably real witches, explaining why Stefan was so interested when it was brought up at dinner. He also explains how I would probably not be able to beat Damon, or any vampire for that matter, in a fight which I think is more of an insult than anything else but I'll take his advice.

Zack also comes in at some point, asking what the course of action is. After telling him I'm keeping my memories, not wanting my brain scrambled anymore than it possibly already has been, he nods and hands me a little bag of herbs.

"It's vervain," he explains to me, "If you have some of this in your system, either in your tea or water, you won't be able to be compelled."

"Wow," I say, holding onto the bag closely, "That's pretty handy."

"It is," Stefan agrees "It also works if you have it on you, some sort of jewellery. I gave Elena a necklace with vervain in it to try and protect her from Damon, but you could do it with just about anything."

"Why vervain though?" I ask.

"It's poisonous to vampires," Zack says, watching as Stefan reaches in the bag and hisses in pain, snatching his hand back to show me burn marks and sores, slowly but surely healing.

"Ouch," I comment. "Good to know."

Ringing makes all three of us jump and I grab my phone from my back pocket, seeing my mom was calling me. Oh boy, it's late. I answer and quickly let her know what happened, explaining to her briefly what happened tonight and that I was alright.

"Do you need me to come pick you up?"

"No, it's okay, I can get a lift from someone, I'll see you at home soon. Yeah, I'm leaving soon. Okay, love you. Bye."

I put my phone back into my pocket and look over at Stefan. "Can you drop me off?"

"Yeah sure," he says, "Are you ready to go now?"

"Yeah," I reply, "Lemme just get my jacket." And I head back to the living room, folding up the blanket from earlier and grabbing the mug from the coffee table and taking it to the kitchen. I don't wanna leave the place a mess, the two of them have really helped me tonight. I'm probably going to have a mental breakdown sometime later tonight, or sometime this week, but hey that's a future me problem.

But then I hear the door open.

And suddenly Zack comes rushing into the kitchen. "Come on, quick," he says, leading me back towards the door.

"What's going on?"

"Sh!" Zack hisses, and freezes.

I turn around and for the third time this week, I come face to face with Damon Salvatore. And he looks exactly how he did every other time; confident, charming, a little bit cocky, but overall quite likeable. How times have changed.

"Hm, you're scared of me," he comments, interest peaked, "So Stefan didn't try and compel you, huh."

"No," I replied coldly, keeping a hand on the bag of vervain just in case. "I want you to leave Caroline alone."

"Skye, don't," Zack warns me, but I'm not listening. Not right now.

"Now why would I do that?" Damon asks, absolutely having no intention of doing as I ask.

"Her mom is the sheriff, and any guy found hurting her daughter, no matter who or what they are, is going to get their ass beat," I tell him.

And he has the audacity to laugh. "Yeah? You're going to tell her, tell the whole town?"

"If you don't leave her alone, then yes."

"Well," Damon says, moving closer, making me take a step back, shoving Zack in the process slightly. "Who says I'm going to let you leave this house alive?"

"You could have killed me alongside Tanner, but you didn't. Something tells me you're not going to do anything too drastic just yet," I say, explaining my reasoning thankfully without stuttering, my heart racing in my chest.

Damon shrugs, looking like he was about to turn away, but thankfully I didn't let my guard down as he turns back at an inhuman speed, pushing Zack out the way and lifting me up by the neck. I drop my jacket and the little bag of vervain, holding onto his arm with my left hand, holding onto a handful of vervain in my right.

"You don't get to decide what happens around here, I do."

"Oh yeah?" I croak out before smashing my handful of vervain over his face.

With a cry of pain, he releases me and I fall to the floor in a lump, gasping for breath. Damon grabs my arm as I move to get away, but with my vervain stained hand I manage to get him to let go.

I snatch my belongings from the floor and make a rush for the door. Along the way, I end up tripping over Stefan in the hallway, lying there with a twisted neck. I scream realising he's dead. If his own brother can kill him, then what the hell is he going to do to me. I've gotta get out of this house and as far away from here as possible before that can happen.

And then Stefan gasps for breath and I scream again. "What the fuck?!"

Stefan is looking round in confusion, and I'm staring at him in shock. "What happened?" he asks.

"You tell me, you're neck is broken!"

"Oh yeah, ouch." I swear to god, the crack I just heard will give me nightmares for the next ever. I want to throw up after hearing that sound.

This night is chaos.

And then Damon appears once more at the end of the hall, burn marks across his face, healing gradually. Stefan stands in front of me thankfully, so I at least have some form of protection.

"Get to the car," Stefan says and he doesn't need to tell me twice, I'm out of there so fast, running to where the car is parked outside.

And it's locked. Of course it is.

I turn around to try and get Stefan's attention to unlock the vehicle but I just see his collapsed corpse, again. Neck twisted and everything. Ew, ouch, ew! But if he's out for the count, then where is the other one?

"Come on."

I scream, whipping around to come face to face again with Damon. This is happening way too much for my liking. I go to hit him again with the hand that's coated in vervain but he grabs my wrist before I can make contact with him.

He makes a tsk-ing sound. "Hey, none of that," he says as if scolding a child. "Come on, let's go for a ride." And he walks towards their garage, and he can't mean what I think he means.

My heart is still beating in my chest, adrenaline running through my veins, still high over the chase. "You think I'm going to get in a car with you?" I ask because he can't be serious. He can't seriously think I'll go with him willingly.

"Either you come willingly, or I'll compel you," he shrugs, opening the garage doors. "Your choice, but either way, Stefan can't give you a lift home right now, he's a bit busy."

This whole scenario is way too...180. Something is weird about this whole thing and it's putting me on edge. "Why?" I ask cautiously. I don't get a response, but I do hear the sound of a car, and out rolls the sexy beast that almost killed me, this time with the top on it.

The window rolls down and Damon leans over. "Get in, and I'll tell you."

I don't want to, I really don't want to. But I feel like I'll be in more danger if I don't cooperate than if I do. Plus, getting to ride shotgun in this motor isn't so bad... Okay, whatever if I'm dead then I'm dead, there's nothing I can do about it. I get in the car.

"See?" Damon says, starting the drive out of the compound, "That wasn't so hard now, was it?"

"What do you want?" I ask, not wanting to deal with him any longer than I have to.

"Well," he starts, drawing the word out dramatically. "Nothing from you, yet. You're right, I have no interest in killing or harming you right now. Plus, it's been a while since someone managed to get a hit on me so I will commend you on that."

"Thanks?" I reply, unsure what he's talking about. He didn't really answer my question, but I'm too afraid to say so. And I realise he's going the right way. "Wait, how do you know where I live?"

"You ran out in front of my car the other day, from your house," he replied. "Not very smart, you know. Lucky I have quick reflexes or else that might have ended up badly, for you and the sexy beast."

"Okay, don't try and joke with me, you just tried to kill me."

Damon laughed making me glare at him, which seemed to make him laugh more. "I didn't try and kill you, I was messing with you. Seeing what you would do. You're an interesting character, Skye, and I like you."

"Well, you know, since you like me so much, would you mind leaving my friends alone?" I tried, asking overly sweetly.

"Hm," he replies, just as overly sweetly as me. "No."

"Worth a shot," I grumbled, looking away from him and out the window, watching the world go by. Man, my life has been flipped in the span of one evening. What absolute madness.

Damon sighs, "Look, if it makes you feel better, she's compelled and is fine with me feeding on her."

I look at him blankly. "Are you dumb? She's compelled! You've manipulated her mind! She doesn't get a choice!" I facepalm because how is that supposed to make me feel better?

Damon grimaces and nods his head. "Okay, yeah, nevermind."

"Can't you just do what Stefan does?" I suggest, "You know, eat animals instead?"

"Oh, you mean Bambi? And all the adorable bunnies? Maybe even puppies, for a treat?"

"You're horrible," I mumble, giving up.

"No, I won't go on a vampire veggie diet," Damon continues, "it makes me weak and it does not taste good." Making a face, I can only imagine what it tastes like. "Now, I don't care that you have vervain, drink that, wear that, I wasn't planning on compelling you again anyway, but - "

"Again? You compelled me?! When?!" I demanded, "Is that why I kissed you at the bonfire?"

"Oh no, that was all you."

"Damnit..."

"Yeah, no getting around that," he says, smiling at me with mocking sympathy. "But nothing long-lasting, so you're fine, calm down. As I was saying though, before you so rudely interrupted me, I'm quite interested in that mark on your neck."

I blink in surprise, not expecting that. "Why?"

"I've seen it before," he says, getting an almost distant look on his face. "A long time ago. Not long before I met Katherine."

Ah, Katherine. The woman that both Damon and Stefan were in love with at one point or another. We got a little run down of that the other night at Elena's. I wonder if she really is dead like he said she was.

"What does this have to do with Katherine?" I ask.

Damon doesn't reply, instead stops the car and turns to me with a smile. "Oh look, we're here. Phone please."

"Excuse me?"

"Phone, gimme."

"What for?"

"Ugh, take a wild guess," Damon says, rolling his eyes. "In case I need to contact you, obviously."

"No," I tell him, and try to bargain. "Not until you leave Caroline alone."

"Ugh," he groans overdramatically. "Look, I need her for this founders party, but after that I'll stop messing with her, you happy?"

"You'll let her down gently," I continue, not willing to let this go just yet. "I don't want her heartbroken, in fact, I want her to think she broke up with you."

Damon rolls his eyes. "Fine, whatever, you're pushing this a bit far, I mean, who would wanna break up with this?" I hold out my hand for him to shake and to seal the deal. I get a raised eyebrow in response. "I'm not shaking that."

"Why not?"

"It's covered in vervain, dummy."

I can't help but laugh, looking down at it. "Oh, yeah."

So we each hand over our phones, exchanging numbers. I don't know how I'm so calm about this whole scenario right now. A few hours ago I saw him kill my teacher, and now we're exchanging numbers. There's something seriously wrong with me. Maybe it's the trauma, who knows. Again, I'll probably freak out about it all later. Future me problem.

As I'm gathering my stuff up, I see Damon looking like he wants to say something. "What?" I ask, just wanting to get into my house and to sleep.

"I'm sorry," he says, almost like it hurts to say.

"What for?" I ask, "For killing my teacher? Killing Stefan? Feeding off my friend? Terrorizing my hometown?"

Despite smiling at me, I feel a chill go down my spine, sending me a warning to stop. "Not quite, but you shouldn't have had to see that earlier, a bit gruesome-looking back on it. I had to make a point to Stefan though. But as I said, I like you, we get along. Let's not ruin that now, yeah?" I nod my head and he leans across me, opening up the door. "Alright now, bye-bye now, I'll see you around."

"Thanks for the ride," I say, getting out and closing the door, rushing up to my house and entering as fast as I could. The kitchen light was on, and that was it. It was quiet, the house was pretty much silent, meaning everyone was in bed.

Finally safe behind closed doors, I lean against the kitchen counter and start crying, unable to stop the tears streaming down my face. Everything that happened tonight, that happened the last few nights finally makes sense and it's all so overwhelming.

Everything that's happened with Vicki, with Tanner, all the animal attacks that have been occurring, Caroline's strange behaviour, it all adds up. And it's terrifying. Vampires are real, my parents most likely know, and I begin to wonder what else they're not telling me. And then the regular drama of Tyler and Jeremy, of Matt and Stefan, of Lana and Chad! God, with everything that's happened I almost forgot about them!

Too much is happening all at once, and I just gave a damn vampire my phone number. God, I can't believe I made out with him at some point! What is wrong with me? And what does my birthmark have to do with any of this?!

That's it. I'm done for the night.

My phones filled with messages from Elena, Bonnie, Caroline, Tyler, even Matt, but I don't respond to any of them, I can't be bothered, I'm exhausted. I end up falling asleep on top of my bed with my clothes still on after lying there trying to piece together how dramatic life has suddenly gotten, and I'm not even eighteen yet.

And then I realise what Damon said in the car. The Founder's Party. Ah! I don't have a dress! And so that starts the waterworks again, although this time I think anything could have set me off at that point, the stress of everything that's happened getting to me.

Thankfully the next morning, I wake up and get some well-needed hugs from my mom who helped Kieron cook pancakes for breakfast, letting me eat them in bed while we talked about what to do for the Founder's Party.

* * *

**Wordcount: 4,541  
****Proofread?: Meh.**

**Yeah, it's a bit shorter than the last chapter, but it's literally just filler as well so. Gonna be real with you, not sure how much I liked this chapter but we're gonna go with it anyway. Hopefully you liked the conversation between Skye and Stefan at the start, I want them to have a good friendship in this story despite everything going on around them.**

**Next chapter is going to be the Founder's Party! So, you can bet there's gonna be more drama happening with that. Not gonna lie, I'm probably gonna have to rewatch some episodes because I don't remember much of this.**

**Anyway! Come, step right up! Review and give your opinion now! Your messages will be replied below!**

_Your messages will be replied here!_

**OnlyRevier - Yes she is, she knows all about it now! This chapter was mainly getting Skye to the point of knowing what's going on, and trying to figure out how to get Caroline out of dodge. Next chapter being the founder's party and all that will have more scenes on how she reacts to the vampire bros**

**frankieithompson1121 - Glad you enjoyed it! It's easier working with characters that didn't have a lot of screentime originally because I'm able to have more control over the story, but that's just me. As for potential love interests, I don't want to give away too much but if it isn't obvious enough already, yes Damon is up there. Nothing officially planned, but there are ideas.**

**Guest - Thank you again for such a long review! So long as you review, I'll do my best to reply ^.^ Yeah, she was a lil shook to say the least. Hopefully this chapter surprised you in some positive way? If not pls roast me lmao. But yeah, there are a lot of ways I could go with it in terms of when and how Skye will be turned, but I don't think it'll happen soon... Again, I hardly plan things myself so a lot of what I write is as much of a surprise to you as it is to me haha**

**Sam - you're welcome, friend!**


	8. Chapter 8 - The Founder's Party

**Thank you again for your reviews! I love reading them! They really do keep me motivated ^.^**

**And we're right back on it like a car bonnet. Here we have the founder's party. And I actually watched the episode for this chapter! A whole episode, that's right, not just some clips on youtube. Are you proud of me? I'm putting in the effort. Fair warning, after this I might take a few more days to upload just because I want to watch a few more episodes in advance as a refresher.  
But a****nyway. Enjoy!**

* * *

The dream I had after accidentally falling asleep in my clothes was interesting, to say the least.

_"Wake up," I heard, which is weird because the dream is only just starting, surely it isn't over just yet. "Idiot, come on, you're going to be late!"_

_And so I open my eyes for the first time in my dream and find myself staring at a young Damon Salvatore, not much younger physically, but a little less sure with his movements, a little less confident in the way he held himself. And for some reason, I don't think these dreams mean nothing anymore._

_I get up out of the cot anyway, looking down at myself and oh yeah, I'm definitely not myself in this dream. Very different body parts. But I seem to know what to do, what to wear, and what I need to bring. Instead of a weapon like I thought I would considering the previous dream, I'm bringing an old, beaten soccer ball._

_The day is bright, and tents are set up everywhere, a couple of small fires dotted about here and there. I'm following Damon, who doesn't seem as tall in this dream, and we meet up with a bunch of other guys who all look the same. We're all about the same age it seems, barely men but technically no longer boys. And we split into teams for a match._

_Kicking a ball back and forth, laughing as I'm able to evade the others, even spinning around one of them on my way to the makeshift goals we made with our jackets. I've never been so coordinated in my life, dream or otherwise, so it's a shock when I manage to shoot and score, getting tackled by my teammates who mess my hair up, although I don't think I minded too much._

_"Nice one, you big idiot," Damon says with a smile, clapping me on the shoulder as he ran by._

_"Salvatore!" a man calls, halting our game. Damon straightens up and walks over to our higher up. He gets handed an envelope. And all we hear is, "Congratulations, Lieutenant." And we're all clapping at our comrade's promotion._

And that's when I woke up quite content but at some ungodly hour, deciding to get out of my jeans into some shorts and under the covers where my dreams were, unfortunately, less happy and carefree...

_I'm running. As fast as I can._

_The streets are empty, and a light is flickering making the whole scene seem more eerie than it perhaps is. The only sound is my heavy breathing, my feet hitting the road and the wind. I don't know where I'm running to, but I recognise that I'm on the road to my house, so that's where I head to. I even take the shortcut and relief hits me as I see it in the distance. But there's a figure too, standing in the middle of the road a little further down._

_I pick up the speed because something tells me that that is exactly who I'm supposed to be running from, and they're here at my house. Well, not quite yet._

_The figure begins walking at a leisurely pace towards my house, towards me. I ignore the stitch in my side and run up my driveway, bound up the stairs and the door is locked! I began banging on it, not caring that my family are probably asleep given the darkness, I just need to get in. I look behind me and the figure is closer, almost at the end of the driveway. I begin checking my pockets to see if I somehow have a magical key on my that can let me into my house when the door opens slightly._

_I go to push it so I can enter but it doesn't budge. What the -_

_"Kieron?" I ask seeing him keeping the door closed, "Move, let me in quick!"_

_My little brother doesn't say anything, just steps back and allows to door to open. But I can't step over the threshold. What..._

_I look behind me and the figure is almost right behind me!_

_"Kieron, quick, invite me in!" I say, panicking now._

_"No."_

_"No?!"_

_"Mom and Dad said not to invite strangers in," he said coldly and my heart broke seeing the way he spoke to me as if he didn't know me at all._

_A hand grasped my shoulder, and I turn around to face the figure but instead of some spooky creature, I find my mother._

_"Mom?" I say, relaxing realising it's only her._

_She looks at me coldly, before moving her arm and stabbing me through the gut with a wooden stake._

And then I wake up. I wipe my eyes of some lingering tears, and spend the morning with my real mom who isn't out to kill me but who loves me and is feeding me and helping me decide where we should go shopping for a dress for the Founder's Party. We end up deciding to go out of town to have some more options, Kieron also needing something to wear as he's grown out of his last suit.

A day spent with my mom and brother is a great success, trying on different nice clothes, getting critiqued by your kid brother, Mom found that hilarious. We all end up getting new outfits, we even pick out a new tie and shirt for dad for when he gets back. We stop by at some fast-food chain on our way back to Mystic Falls for dinner.

"So what time is Tyler picking you up?" Mom asks.

Tyler and I never actually ask each other if we're going together at this point, we always just assume we are considering it helps to keep our moms happy. "I dunno, I'll message him and find out." I check my phone to find different texts from people.

Caroline has sent me many, many pictures of different outfits she has, and what would look best for the occasion. I have a couple of messages each from Bonnie and Elena with what they're wearing, and a comment about how Care is blowing up their phones. I even have a message from a new number asking if I'm doing alright. Turns out that's Stefan, I don't know whether he got my number from Elena or Damon but it's nice to know I'm being checked up on.

Surprisingly enough, I even have a few messages from Damon. Mainly making snide comments or complaining about Caroline, which I don't appreciate and tell him so. But then I also have a message from Lana, asking about going to the Founder's Party with me tomorrow. I leave her on read, not really knowing what to say.

Dad is already home when we arrive back, and we catch him up on the day's events, showing him our purchases and then pretending we didn't have fast-food so we could have some of the food he made while we were out. It was a good, drama-free day. But it's weird how I look at our house now, how it's decorated and even where we keep certain things.

I always thought the swords hanging on the wall were decorative, and maybe they are, but they're also sharp given I cut myself quite easily when checking them out. The knives in the kitchen are also right by the entrance. Anything that could be used to harm, or defend, yourself is always within reach it seems. No guns though, I don't know why but I have a feeling bullets might not work on vampires if breaking their neck doesn't quite finish the job.

There are still so many things I want to ask about in relation to vampires, but I don't want to ask over text or anything in case I ever leave my phone open and someone sees, putting Stefan in danger and or sending me off somewhere to get checked. Yeah, I can wait and just ask in person.

As I'm getting ready for bed again, I get a phone call from Tyler. "Hey, what's the plan for tomorrow?" I ask, throwing my phone back on the bed to continue getting ready.

"Okay, I'll come pick you up around, I dunno, 3?" Tyler says, "But listen, if Vicki asks, can you say you're going with someone else?"

"Oh, you're taking Vicki?" I teased, "What, you two getting serious now?"

"Well, I dunno," he replies quite nervously, "I like but I dunno if I like her like her, you know?"

I hum in response, "I do know. Bad feeling that. Well, you won't believe who asked me if I wanted to go with them?"

"Oh, do tell."

"Lana."

"Never would have guessed." I rolled my eyes at the sarcastic response. "But seriously? What did you say?"

"I haven't said anything yet," I replied, turning off the big light and putting my lamp on. "I might say yes, just so we're no longer on awkward terms. I mean, not officially of course."

"I can't believe you're cheating on me, Skye," Tyler says, sounding very serious but making me laugh. "I never thought you'd do something like that to me."

And then I see my mom standing at my door with her mouth open, looking shocked. "You cheated on Tyler?!"

"Mom, no! It's a joke!"

"Hi, Mrs Hampton, yup Skye totally cheated on me."

"Ty!"

* * *

The dress I got for the Founder's Party was a royal navy colour, with a shimmer design sewn throughout it. It was knee-length and had a square neckline. I paired it with an old, locket which I shoved some vervain in, and a pair of heels. Now, I don't wear heels often but when I do I'm sure to go over my ankle at some point. So, I leave the shoes by the door until I'm ready to go.

Some pretend-natural makeup, and hair curled by my mom, I looked picture perfect if I do say so myself. I got some photos taken with the family, we even managed to get one as a family by setting up a timer on the camera. There were a few I wasn't exactly happy with, some a bit too close, but most of them I don't mind ending up in a picture frame somewhere.

And then Tyler arrives, in a suit and everything, and we get forced to take pictures together as if we were going to prom, but thankfully we manage to escape without being blinded.

"Paparazzi huh, can't get enough of us," I joke, running to his car in barefoot, not willing to put the heels on just yet.

I check my phone to see when abouts Lana was going to arrive. Yes, I'm not sure how I feel about it either, but the bruise is basically gone so I think I'm ready to talk to her again. Honestly, I don't think a real relationship is going to start out of this, but now I just want us to be on okay terms again. I think Chad might be a lost cause at this point, he hasn't even tried talking to me after the first day. But if that's how he wants to be then oh well.

We arrive at the mansion, and it's still slightly early. Tables of old Founder's items are still being set up, but Carol and Charles Lockwood are happy enough to have us take even more pictures. This we weren't lucky enough to escape.

Our pictures were taken on the stairs, by the stairs, at the front of the house, in front of the old items, we even had a couple of photos taken by their pond. But thankfully we were saved by the arrival of guests.

And you'd think that knowing the existence of vampires, you wouldn't just go and? Invite every single person in town in? Literally saying, hello, welcome, come in. No offence to Tyler's parents, but that's not the smartest move.

A line is made, and I see Vicki in that line, looking really pretty with her hair all straightened and in a nice dress. I nudge Tyler beside me and point her out. What I didn't expect him to do was go and try to sneak her in through the back door, god. Way to make a girl feel welcome. He's not the sharpest though, and he is but a boy.

I sigh and go to head back inside, catching the eye of my 'secret-date' at the front of the queue. She walks over to me, in a long black dress with a slit on the side, a faux fur shawl over her shoulders. With her hair tied up and make-up looking fierce, she's the most gorgeous person I've seen all night.

"Hi," is the only word I seem to be able to get out.

"Hi," she replies, smiling, "You look good."

"So do you," I tell her. "Gorgeous."

Lana looks down with a smile, a little embarrassed. "Thanks. Shall we head inside?" And she holds out her hand. I gulp, glancing over to where Tyler's parents are busy greeting guests. They look busy, but I can feel my heart in my throat.

"Yeah," I reply, holding instead onto my clutch. "Let's go get some drinks, my treat." I say my treat, it isn't like it isn't an open bar. God, I'm an idiot.

We manage to snatch some champagne that's floating around, trying to make general small talk. How are your classes, crazy what happened with Mr Tanner, did you hear the wild animal got caught? That last one shocked me a little bit, to be honest. I know who done it, and considering he's walking around this party towards me then no animal has been caught and - wait why is he heading over here?

Lana's mood instantly changes, her sentence dropping at the end as Damon appears before us, a drink in hand. Can this possibly get any more awkward?

"Ladies, you're looking lovely this evening," Damon says after taking a sip of his drink.

"Skye, who's this?" Lana asks coldly, staring daggers into the side of his face.

"Oh, how rude of me. Damon Salvatore," he introduced, raises an eyebrow, "Have we met? You look familiar." He's doing this on purpose now, he must be. What a dick.

"Damon, this is Lana," I say, trying to emphasise and get across the message to stop.

"Oh yeah," he says, not taking the hint, "You were the cause of quite a nasty bruise, weren't you? Ouch, I know to keep my distance."

Lana, clearly having had enough of him, turns to me, "I'm going to go talk to someone else, come find me whenever."

I sigh as I watch her walk away, wondering why she's mad at me. Damon I can understand being mad at considering how irritating he is, but what did I do?

"Oh, trouble in paradise?"

"Not like you were helping," I respond, glaring at him. "Shouldn't you be with your date? You know, before she gets to break up with you?"

Damon rolls his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, she's hiding me from her mom right now. I can't believe she doesn't want to introduce me to the family, can you believe it?"

"Funnily enough, yes," I reply. "You're more of a Rolling Stones guy. Everyone knows it's the Beatles guys that you take home to meet the parents."

"And that's why the Rolling Stones are better."

"Okay, did you ever get the chance to see them live?" I ask, genuinely curious.

"Oh yeah," he replied, "Never got to see the Beatles live, but I can tell you with full confidence that the Rolling Stones were better."

"Wow, must have been amazing..." I say, thinking about how cool it would be to get the chance to go back and see old bands live. "What about Queen? Or ABBA?!"

"Oh, come on," Damon rolled his eyes, "How did I know you were going to ask about ABBA?"

"Because they're great? Duh!"

"They are now, but at the time they were pretty average," he said and my mouth dropped. He did not just say that.

"No way," I told him, "I don't believe you."

"Believe it, but Queen was something else. Took the world by storm. Live AID was a great concert."

"You were there at Live AID?" I asked in amazement.

"Yup," he replied, smiling, "Was a crazy time, shame about ole Freddie Mercury in the end but that performance was unmatched."

And before you know it, I've forgotten all about Lana storming off, I've forgotten about keeping up appearances around Tyler's mom and dad, and for a while, I even forgot about all the horrifying things that he's done since coming to Mystic Falls. Right now, I'm just taking in the amazement that is being able to live throughout history, throughout all these amazing events.

It's as we're looking through the different old trinkets that we come across the original guest list for the first Founder's party. "Hey, there's your name. And Stefan's!"

"Oh yeah, was a bit different to this one but still just as boring," Damon says, looking through the names.

One name catches my eye. "Katherine Pierce, your ex?"

I'm met with silence and I feel like I'm pushing boundaries of some sort. "Yes, although I'd like to think we'd still be together if it weren't for that little war at the Wickery Bridge."

"You made it seem so recent," I commented, "And not over a hundred years old."

"It feels recent." Is all he says, looking quite thoughtful.

Now, this definitely might be pushing boundaries, but I've got to know. "What happened that night?"

Damon hesitates for a moment, taking a swig of his drink before replying. "Some of the founders wanted any suspected vampires thrown into the church to be burned alive. Katherine was one of them. Stefan and I tried to save her and we ended up getting shot..."

"Why weren't you in the church if they were putting vampires there?" I asked, and then pieces started falling into place. "Wait, were you two still human at the time?"

"Yup," he replies, finishing the last of his drink off.

"Wow, it must be weird living through history and having it be told so wrong from what you know..." I mumble.

Damon shrugs, "It's more annoying than anything else. I try not to focus on it too much."

And then Caroline shows up and is practically begging Damon to dance, but because he's boring he won't do it.

"I'm not boring," he tries to deny.

I share a look with Caroline, and we both reply, "Yes, you are."

"Okay, that was a little creepy," he comments, moving away from us to get another drink I presume. Boring behaviour all and all.

"I'll dance with you, Care," I say, grabbing her hand and leading her to the dance floor. We spin each other around and have a nice time. Eventually, Caroline goes back to join Damon and before I leave the dance floor I'm twirled around gently to face Lana. She's taller than me, especially since my heels aren't exactly giving me the most height.

"Hi," I say, hesitantly placing a hand on her waist.

"So now you don't mind holding hands with me?" she asks, and it's clear what she was so upset about earlier. It wasn't so much Damon that was the issue it seems but my lack of care. But I can't help being a bit scared.

"I'm sorry about earlier," I tell her, gripping her hand and allowing us to dance slowly together. "It's just...you know I'm friends with Tyler and his parents are a bit...yeah."

"I get it," she says, although I don't know for sure if she does. "If I spot either of them then I'll let you know."

I smiled at her, "Thanks."

And it's sweet, dancing with her. Eventually, our feet are getting sore dancing in heels so we decide to stop. I spot Bonnie and let Lana know that I'll catch up with her later. I manage to catch Carol ripping into one of the waiters about the candles, looking quite frustrated that all one hundred or so of them aren't lit. She doesn't spot me as I enter through one door and she leaves through another.

"Bitch," Bonnie comments, shaking her head.

"Bonnie Benett, you watch your language," I mockingly scold her. She rolls her eyes and I grin, "How's your night?"

"Quite boring," she replies, "You obviously have to come to these events with Tyler, Elena has Stefan, and Caroline even went and brought Damon. Her mom's here and she thinks that's a good idea?"

"Not her best move, I will admit," I say, wondering whether or not she was compelled to bring him or if she doesn't know any better. Something heavy in my gut tells me it's the former. "That poor guy though, there's loads of candles he's gonna have to light up."

"Yeah," Bonnie says, and bites her lip hesitantly as if she's thinking of trying something. Oh, if she's thinking all magic-y then this ought to be good. But she might not want an audience if she's still new at this...

"Um, I'm gonna head back to the party, see you in a bit?" I say, and head out the room, but only around the corner. If she's able to do something cool then I still want to be able to see it.

And lo and behold, one candle lights up just as she turns around. And from that one candle, they all seem to light up in effect. The room is bright with colour by the time she turns around and stares in as much amazement as I am at what she just managed to accomplish.

Bonnie comes out of the room looking quite pleased with herself, and so I grab her for a dance to try and make her night even better. It's fun, we giggle and have a little gossip about what we think about other people's dresses, and how Mayor Lockwood's hairline is starting to become a problem.

After a while, Bonnie stops dancing and points behind me where Lana looks like she's standing waiting. "Go on, she's been waiting there for about five minutes. She's obviously waiting for you."

"Thanks, Bonnie," I smile.

She holds up a pinky finger, and I grab it with my own, already vowing to keep the promise. "Let me know if she does anything else, okay?"

"Of course."

And so to avoid the crowd indoors we opt to go sit outside. It's gotten a lot darker now, but it isn't quite night time yet. The sun setting makes the sky light up in a variety of purples, and oranges, and it's beautiful.

"I'm really sorry, about that night, Skye," Lana says. "I was out of my mind, and I know that is no excuse but...I promise it won't happen again."

Maybe I'm making a mistake, hell, knowing me I probably am, but I decided to go with it anyway. "Okay. Do you wanna go out sometime? After things have settled down in school and stuff, I mean."

Lana's smile is the brightest thing out here, putting the sun to shame. "Sure, I'd like that."

"Skye, dear!" I hear Carol Lockwood calling, and there she is by the door.

"Hi, Carol," I greet with a smile. "This event has been really great, we're really enjoying ourselves."

She smiles with pride. The way to get to her is definitely through compliments as I learned over the years. "Aw, thank you, dear. Have you seen Tyler anywhere? I haven't seen him dance with you once all evening."

"No, sorry," I reply, planning on sending a warning text to him as soon as she leaves.

"Oh, I saw him heading down to the pond earlier with Vicki," Lana said helpfully, and I would have appreciated this information a lot more if Carol wasn't still here.

"Ah, I see him now," she says, and sure enough there's Tyler and Vicki sitting on a bench in the distance and oh boy, he's in trouble. "Head on in, girls, I'll let him know you're saving him a dance, Skye."

I thank her before heading in with Lana, praying he and Vicki won't be in too far down shit creek. Lana heads off after spotting a couple of her friends, and I feel arms wrap around my waist and look down to see my little brother holding onto me. I grin down at him, happy to know he's still capable of giving hugs.

Catching up with my parents briefly, Tyler appears looking a bit down but practically drags me to the dance floor. We end up beside Stefan and Elena dancing and they both look adorable, anyone can tell. Off at the side though, I see Caroline who looks like she desperately wants to dance and Damon who looks like he'd rather be literally anywhere else.

"You okay?" I ask Tyler as we danced together, trying to ignore the stares of our moms.

"I guess," he says, lying through his teeth. "I dunno, I think I messed up with Vicki. My mom wasn't happy finding out that I brought her and left you alone all night. So if she asks, tell her I gave some really good apology, yeah?"

"You got it," I agree, and smile slightly. This was pretty much how our friendship started. If my mom asks, I said this, if your mom asks, tell her this, eventually leading to us having to hang out until eventually, we didn't mind hanging out. Funny, huh. "If you put the effort in then I'm sure you and Vicki will be alright."

"Yeah, I hope your right..."

"I'm always right," I said.

"Right..." Tyler says, clearly not believing me.

The song comes to an end and I have to go to the bathroom. I tell Tyler I'll catch up with him in a bit. Coming out of the stall, I see Caroline fixing her makeup. "Hey, Care, how's your night?"

She shrugs, "It's alright, I guess, but I can't get Damon to dance with me."

"Hm," I say, washing my hands and wondering if I should be subtly or not. "Well, obviously he isn't worth it. Dump him."

She giggles, probably thinking that I'm being sarcastic. "Yeah, maybe I should."

Elena walks in, and the room gets a little awkward. It has been a bit frosty between these two lately, more so than usual. And I'm literally right in the middle of it. We're all fixing our makeup and gossiping about the Salvatores when Elena suddenly mentions a mark on Caroline's neck.

"What?" Caroline stutters, looking like a dear caught in headlights as we move her scarf to the side and I see a horrible gaping wound. "It's nothing!"

"That's not nothing, Care, did someone hurt you?" Elena insists.

"Drop it, okay? I'm fine," Caroline says, fixing her hair.

But Elena continues further, removing her shawl and we discover even more bruises. "What the hell... Did Damon do this to you?"

"Stop it, you two, just stop it!" Caroline says, trying to hold it together. She practically whimpers out "My mom would kill me..." And it breaks my heart.

"Care, please talk to us," I try, but she runs out of the bathroom.

And I can feel my blood boiling. That absolute dick. Elena and I seem to have to the same idea because we both head out of the bathroom in search of Damon. "Split up?" she says, and I nod. We can cover more ground.

Unfortunately during my search, I bump into different people, my family, Tyler's family, so by the time I manage to escape outside, I'm sure Elena has already chewed Damon out and ripped him a new one. But then I see him dragging Caroline away from the party, out the side exit.

Not trusting him to keep his end of our flimsy deal, I rush after them. Each step I take down the stairs, I'm thankful for not tripping down.

I catch up to them just as I see Damon take a bite out of Caroline's neck. I cry as I watch him lower her to the floor. And tears rush down my cheeks as I make eye contact with him.

Fearing for my well-being, I go to turn around and call for help but end up stumbling. These damn heels get stuck in the grass and my ankle twists. I cry out in pain, ending up looking at the pair of shoes in front of me. A hand reaches down and I flinch back.

"Hey, it's okay, are you hurt?" I look up and thank god, it's just Stefan.

"I should be fine," I tell him, "I go over my ankle all the time. But...but Care, she's..."

We look over and I see Damon choking, seemingly finding it hard to breathe. Caroline lays beside him, her neck bleeding. I limp over and hold her scarf to her neck to try and stop the blood.

"What...did you do?" Damon gasps, looking like he's having some sort of allergic reaction. He has sores all over his face and is staring up at Stefan.

"I knew I couldn't spike your drink," Stefan explained, "So I spiked hers."

Damon looks like he's starting to lose consciousness, but he's not my main priority here.

"Stefan, help her," I say, barely noticing how rigid he's standing. "She's hurt, please. Go get help or something."

"Here," he says and bites his goddamn wrist.

"What the hell?!" I say as he places it over her mouth. "What are you doing?!"

"Healing her, vampire blood heals. Although, I don't know how much mine will do considering my 'diet'," Stefan says, continuing to let Caroline drink from his wrist. I'm not that squeamish of a person, but even this is something.

"Will that not, you know, turn her?" I asked concerned.

"Only if she dies with it in her system," he replies, "Which hopefully won't happen."

The bleeding stops, the wound covers over. Even the bite marks over her body seem to fade slightly. You can see light marks where they were, but they no longer looked recent, they looked older and more healed. Caroline groans in my arms and I breathe a sigh of relief, holding her close. I'm not ready to lose anyone else just yet.

"Thank you," I tell him. Stefan nods, and in the blink of an eye, he and Damon's body disappear.

Caroline wakes up, we pick up her things, she has some cool-looking gem for some reason, shoving it in her purse quickly. But she hasn't spoken a word since waking up. I spot Elena in the distance and wave at her.

"Care, how are you doing?" I ask.

"I'm fine," Caroline says shakily.

"Hey," Elena says, approaching us. "I was looking for you everywhere, what happened?"

"I'm fine," Caroline says again, starting to shake a bit more. "I'm fine."

"Care, you're shaking," Elena says, and the tears in Caroline's eyes start falling.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," she repeats and we draw her into a hug, holding her close as she cries, unable to do much else except offer her comfort.

* * *

_Elena offers to drop Caroline home, and so Skye is stuck sitting in the kitchen with Tyler and Kieron as their parents are upstairs in the mayor's study talking about the situation at hand._

_"Thank you all for staying so late," Charles Lockwood says as he enters the room, checking to make sure the kids and staff were far away enough that they couldn't listen in._

_"Did you get the Gilbert watch?" Liz Forbes asks._

_"She claims it's packed away in her parents' things," Carol Lockwood says._

_Logan Fell sits down, "I can get it."_

_"Good," Liz says, "We're gonna need it."_

_"Are you sure they're back?" Skye's dad, Andrew asks._

_"Five bodies drained of blood," Skye's mom, Rachel, replies, "We're certain."_

_"They've come_ back."

* * *

**Word count: 5,585  
Proofread?: You'd think, but nah.**

**And here was the founder's party! I tried to integrate some of my other OC's into this, I promise I have ideas for later. Again, I'm not sure how well I'm doing in the early stages of the show, but I hope it's alright for you. But if not then well...**

**Feel free to leave a review! That's right, absolutely free of charge, you can review and tell me what you thought right now! Anyone can do it, step right up! You are also able to favourite and follow this fic so you don't miss out on any of the drama!**

**Not to get all soppy, but while lockdown is giving me loads of time to write which is great, but my main motivation is reading your reviews. I woke up to like 3 reviews and got so excited that I managed to get this out within a day. Not bad, right? Unless ofc it was bad then oops I'm sorry...**

_I review your_ _reviews!_

**HPuni101 - short and sweet review. The fact you said you thought a chapter I wasn't sure about was good really helped motivate me to get this one out, so thank you! Hope to hear from you more!**

**Guest - thank you again for such a detailed review! They make me so happy! Also, what? Pls recommend this fic where Stefan steals someone's dog, it sounds hilarious. And thanks for the suggestions! It's given me some good ideas for some future conversations to have between Skye and literally any vampire.**

**DaphneSlytherinWinchester - Hey! Thanks for reviewing! Glad you seem to like Skye already, I hope you'll stick around to see where this story goes. **

* * *

_**Also, as a side note, keep in mind this is fanfiction and as I'm the one writing it I'm trying to remove some things about the show that I didn't like without changing the story as a whole, which includes scenes where it may not be certain if consent is given, as seen with Tyler and Vicki, I'll probably do the same with Caroline and Damon. I don't want any form of sexual violence in my story, even if it's just in the background.  
**__**I'm also gonna try and change some annoying aspects of the show and some characters in general just because I can, hahaha!**_


	9. Chapter 9 - Car Wash

**Thank you for reviewing! So, maybe it was a bad idea I watched like almost the whole of the first season because now I wanna write that instead of what's happening now RIP. Oh well, we've got this! Here we go again~**

* * *

_The scene began in what looked to be some extravagant looking castle or mansion. There were pillars of marble, a spiral staircase, and there were two young women running hand in hand up those stairs, giggling and glancing behind them as they moved, their floor-length dresses flowing behind them._

_"My lady, you must be careful, we'll be caught!" the shorter, brunette said, her dress looking less than that of the blonde woman's._

_"Doing what, dear?" the blonde said, sending her a smile, "Running through the halls barefoot? Why, have us chained and taken to the gallows!"_

_The shorter woman laughed, continuing to follow the other woman up the stairs and through a maze of corridors until eventually, they reached a door at the end of the hall. The pair quickly shuffled in, one last glance behind them, before closing it and promptly locking it behind them, sticking a chair underneath the handle. It was a process they seemed to know well._

_As soon as they deemed it safe to do so, they embraced, no longer as friends but as lovers do. Their lips met, and dresses were peeled off each other, lying crumpled on the floor forgotten. The blonde, and seemingly stronger of the two, pushed the other onto the bed, laying soft kisses along her body, paying great attention to the circular mark on her partner's hip._

_The woman cried out as she felt the bite on her hip, still not used to this new form of pleasure that she had been introduced to. "I don't recall you ever torturing me like this before..."_

_"Well," the blonde grinned coyly, licking her lips of blood from the wound she just made, "You've changed slightly, dear. I had to get creative. Are you complaining?"_

_The woman grinned back, "No, ma'am."_

* * *

I didn't see or hear from Stefan or Damon after the party. Stefan didn't even show up to school. I don't know what he's doing with Damon, or how big he's digging his grave, but it's putting Elena on edge. Talking to her in school, and texting outside of school about how weird Stefan is acting, and why isn't he calling her back. Overall, not a good way to get into her good graces, Stef. Rookie mistakes.

Meanwhile, Bonnie's been spending more of her time with her Grams, and I've been pretty evenly spreading my time between Lana and Caroline. Lana has been inviting me over to her family's private gym, showing me some fighting moves and everything, sort of as an apology for that one time. She says if she's ever that drunk again then I'll at least know how to defend myself, and smack some sense back into her. Which is kind of sweet, and is also a good outlet.

"Ouch," she said after I managed to get a hit on her, "You're getting pretty good, considering."

"Maybe I'll be able to take you out next time," I said, grinning with pride at finally managing to get her.

Lana grins back at me before getting back into position, "You can take me out anytime you want, Skye."

Caroline, on the other hand, is helping me with planning the monthly charity event I host to help the queer community within and outwith Mystic Falls. It's a nice project that my dad helped me set up, raising money for different charities that help out the LGBTQ+ community. Plus, it doesn't look so bad on a college application and it's a fun night out with friends.

She's turned back into her old self, Caroline, seemingly forgetting everything that happened with Damon. All she remembers is that he isn't worth it and that she's the one who broke it off because he just wasn't worth it. Good, I'm glad. But just for some extra precaution...

"You got me a friendship bracelet?!" Caroline squeals, pulling me into a bone-crushing hug. "It is so cute! And it smells so nice, what is that? Ah, I don't care, I love it!"

I giggled, "I'm glad, Care. It's just a little something to remind you I love you."

"You are the cutest," she says, slipping the bracelet onto her wrist. "This is going to go with everything, I'm never taking it off."

Perfect. Let's hope it stays like that.

Tyler has been avoiding me these last couple of days. But then again, he's been avoiding everybody. I think he's still upset about what happened with Vicki and how his mom spoke about her. Carol Lockwood is a hard woman to get on your side, I'm just worried about Tyler. He's become a bit of a gym shark, especially since our football practices have been stopped. I'm afraid his personality is going to revolve completely around gym life.

Maybe once I get a bit stronger I can go join him in the gym for actual athletes, but I'll stick to my private sessions with Lana for now. It's probably a good idea that I'm learning self-defence after discovering a whole supernatural world exists. Might not have the superpowers, but hey I can at least try not be completely defenceless if I ever get in a fight with a vampire.

Speaking of vampire fights, after the third day of radio silence from both the Salvatores I take it upon myself to go early before school to the boarding house, just to check and see whether Stefan survived drugging Damon up.

I get the bus as close as I can get to the boarding house and walk the rest of the way there, counting my blessings that it isn't a super hot, sunny day. The house looks pretty daunting as you approach it, not gonna lie, but it fits in quite well with the whole vampire theme. I knock on the door, and it once again swings open, a little less horror movie this time though.

"Stefan?" I call, just entering the house. "You alive, mate?"

"Skye?" I look over and see him coming up from the basement. "What're you doing here?"

"Checking on you, you've been MIA for the last few days, I wasn't sure if you'd been taken out or something," I said, "Plus, Elena is a bit peeved off at you now, so..."

He sighs, closing his eyes, "Figures."

"So, what have you been doing?" I asked as he put on a jacket and grabbed his bag.

"Dealing with Damon," he replies vaguely.

Oh. Oh, dear. "Is he, uh, you know..." I draw a line over my throat.

"What? No, no he's not dead," Stefan says in quite a defensive tone, "I'm keeping him from drinking blood, letting him mummify. After another week or so, he should be out for the count." How morbid. "I take it you need a lift?"

"Yes, please."

And that's how I ended up coming to school with Stefan, doing my best to catch him up on what he missed and what assignments were given out, any drama that might be of interest, and especially on how he should apologise to Elena. I don't share the exact texts I've received and the specific words that were said, but I give the general gist of the situation and he grimaces.

"Don't try buying your way out, she'll see right through that," I tell him, doing my best to give him a crash course on how to get back into Elena's good books, something I've had some practice in over the years... "She's a romantic at heart though, so if you're your normal gentlemanly self then you should be fine."

"Thanks," Stefan says as we pull up, looking kind of nervous.

"You've got this, I'm rooting for you," I grin, giving him a thumbs up. "Plus, it's a good hair day for you, the world is on your side."

We split up as we head in, each going to our separate lockers. Surprisingly enough, I bump into Elena and Bonnie before him. "Unbelievable," Elena says in, shockingly, disbelief, and for a moment I think I'm busted. Turns out, the comment is directed at Caroline. "It's as if nothing happened."

"She's in denial," Bonnie says, coming up with the only logical, non-supernatural explanation.

"She'll get through this soon," I say approaching, looking over and seeing Caroline putting up posters with some other girls from the cheerleading squad, looking like her usual, cheerful self. "She's strong, our Caroline."

The two nodded in agreement, but I could still see their concern. It's at that moment Stefan makes his guest appearance, and Bonnie drags me off.

"But I wanna know if he pulls it off!" I whine, trying to keep listening in.

"Leave them alone, Skye," Bonnie groans, dragging us to our first class and away from the drama. I'll just need to catch up with him later and get all the gods straight from the source.

Unfortunately, I spend most if not all of my lunchtime with Lana, helping her with her science report that was due after break. I did see Tyler heading towards the football field with Matt and some of the other guys, but he ignored me when I waved. I don't know what his problem is, but it's getting kind of annoying...

They still haven't found us a history teacher yet, so those classes have been filled with substitutes who can't seem to handle loud teenagers. But even during these classes, Tyler hardly looks at me!

I manage to get a hold of Matt before he can escape, tugging on his shirt sleeve. "Okay, I know you two have a dudebro pact, but spill, why has Tyler been ignoring me since the founder's party?"

Matt looked very uncomfortable with this conversation, avoiding all eye contact already. Oh boy, this isn't good. "Listen," he starts, and I don't know what kind of trouble I'm in for, "You should really talk to him about it, you know?"

"I would," I say to him, "If he would talk to me."

"Yeah," Matt says, removing my hand from his arm. "Give him another couple days to cool off and then maybe try again?"

"Not to make you the messenger, Matt, but please try to convince him to talk to me," I plead. "It feels weird fighting with him for this long, normally it's over dumb stuff but I don't even know what I've done this time."

Matt sighs, nodding his head. "Fine, I'll talk to him." I wrap him up in a hug with a grin. "But don't expect much."

"Thank you, Matty!"

End of school comes along, and I grab everything I need from my locker before meeting up with Caroline in the parking lot. She drives us to the Grill where we continue to plan for the charity event. No, not the sexy scrubs car wash on, she's had that planned since last week. This was my project, we were placing a booking in the Grill to host the open mic night and karaoke for November 1st. Day after Halloween is ambitious, but there were no earlier slots available.

"What do you think Stefan's been up to that's got Elena all pissy?" Caroline asks, looking over and seeing Elena and Matt gossiping.

I shrugged, glancing behind her to see if our food was on its way. "I dunno, he said he was dealing with Damon, whatever that means."

"Speaking of Damon," she says, getting ready to vent, "What a dick, I don't know how I didn't see it sooner. You know, he never even took me out on a proper date."

"He sounds terrible," I agree, happy to know she isn't heartbroken over him. Caroline is a sensitive girl, and she gives her all in everything she does which is great for charity projects and work in general, but it hurts her most in terms of building relationships. Guys either take advantage of her, or they get scared off when they see how ambitious she is, which just sucks.

I swear, I'll find Caroline someone worthy of her if it's the last thing I do!

"At least the sex was good," Caroline said, making me choke on my drink. "Like, really good."

"I don't need to know, Care!" I laughed, grabbing a napkin to clean the mess that was me.

"Okay, if you insist," she says, flattening out her napkin as our food arrives. Burger and fries, can't beat it. "But if we aren't talking about my sex life, let's talk about yours." And I'm glad I hadn't taken that giant bite out of my burger just yet, or else I most definitely would have choked on that too. "What is going on with you and Lana?"

I just smiled, taking a bite of my burger and shrugged.

"Skye Elizabeth Hampton! That is not a proper answer and you know it!" Caroline declares, popping a fry in her mouth for emphasis. "Spill it, now."

And so I let her in on what Lana and I talked about during the founder's party, and how I've been spending after school at her family's private gym in town to learn self-defence. "I'm getting good at it as well."

"That's nice," she dismisses quickly with a flick of her hand, clearly not interested in how much of a badass I'm becoming. I roll my eyes. "But did any of these gym sessions ever turn into a steamy make-out session?"

I shrugged casually, taking a sip of my lemonade.

"Skye."

"Maybe," I grinned, loving having the upper hand over Caroline in terms of gossip.

"Where?! How far did you get?!" she squeals.

"I never knew you were into girl on girl, Care."

"Shut up, I'm trying to be supportive here, unlike some people..." she grumbles, and that last bit catches my attention.

"Um," I say, and her eyes widen realising I caught on. "Who isn't supportive?"

Caroline bites her lip nervously, "I shouldn't say, he'll get mad."

"Oh so it's a he," I say, and after a quick think, the first and only person that comes to mind is "Tyler? Is it him?"

"Wow, you're good," Caroline says, and nods. "Yes, it's him."

"Why?" I ask in confusion, "And how come you know? You two barely talk, he's supposed to be my best friend."

"And what am I?" Caroline asks offended, "Smoked salmon?"

"Don't be ridiculous, you're at least pulled pork and you know it." She rolls her eyes at my sarcasm. "But seriously, what's up with him?"

"I shouldn't say..."

Now I roll my eyes. "When have you ever kept a secret, Care?"

Her walls are breaking and after a moment, she gives. "Fine, but you didn't hear it from me."

"Scout's honour."

"Okay," Caroline starts, getting into her serious gossip mode, very different from her other gossip modes. Her voice lowers and she doesn't break eye contact, making sure you're drawn into her story. "I overheard him and Matt talking, Tyler was raging after he heard from Chad that you and Lana were giving things a go. He doesn't like how she basically beat you to a pulp at the bonfire..."

"Wait, how does Chad know about this?" I ask, confused as to why he's suddenly involved. I haven't spoken to him in weeks, and I don't really care for his opinion at this point. "What does he have to do with this?"

Caroline shrugs, "I don't know, all I know is that that's how Tyler found out about you two. I know you were trying to keep it on the down-low..."

I sighed, trying to rub the tension out of the back of my neck. "Well, if he ever decides to talk to me again, I'll let him know that it's nothing serious, at least not yet. I dunno..."

"...what?"

I should have known Caroline wouldn't have missed that. "Well, she's really pretty, and I've been having fun with her these past few days - "

"I bet you have," she grins, and I give her an unamused look in return.

" - But, I don't see us actually going anywhere," I admit, feeling kind of let down almost. "We don't actually have anything in common, so whenever we aren't talking about working out or schoolwork, we just end up making out and stuff... And yeah, that's fun, but I don't want a relationship based on...nothing."

Caroline hummed in thought before replying, "Maybe you just haven't gotten to know each other very well yet."

I deadpan. "We have different tastes in movies and tv shows, we have different opinions on diets, and don't get me started on her work ethic, I swear, she's like a polar opposite to you."

"Yikes," she comments, "Yeah, maybe Tyler's right, maybe you two shouldn't be seeing each other."

"What?" I gasp, "You were so supportive five minutes ago."

"And then you started bitching about her."

"Okay, fair point..."

Looking back over towards the pool tables, we spot Elena storm out, leaving Stefan and Matt alone. Oh boy, I hope that conversation isn't too awkward. Stefan, looking mighty dejected, heads over to the bar and manages to get a drink off the bar. Our conversation about Tyler and Lana is going to have to be put on hold, this conversation seems a bit more urgent right now.

"How is he getting served?" Caroline whispers in shock.

Ah, he must have used that compelling thing, but obviously I can't say that to her. "Um, he's new here so they probably don't know that he's underage yet."

"But still," she says, crossing her arms over her chest, "You'd think they'd ID him or something."

"Let's invite him over, see what happened over there," I say and wave Stefan down, "Stefan! Hey!"

We get him a seat and he joins us, letting us know what just went down. He was late because something happened at the boarding house with Zack, but the fact that he didn't text Elena to let her know and instead just showed up an hour late really peeved her off.

"Well, no wonder," Caroline said making me snort in amusement, "Come on, Stefan, really, get with it."

"She's got a point Stefan, takes two seconds to sent a text," I agree. "You're going to have to do outdo yourself if you want to get back in there now."

"What do you think I should do?" he asks, looking between us for suggestions.

Caroline and I share a glance and put on our thinking caps. "Well," we say in unison.

We come up with a pretty good plan if we do say so ourselves. Elena wants to know Stefan, but being the mysterious guy he is he finds opening up kind of difficult. So the two of us ask a series of trivia questions that he could let her know, we also suggest inviting her over and making her a meal after he tells us he can cook. That was a bit of a shock to me, and I had to remind myself Caroline was sitting right there and not to ask him any supernatural related questions.

Our first fault in the plan is would Elena agree to go over to the boarding house if she was mad at him, and the verdict is no. No, she wouldn't. So, our next option is that he needs to ambush her, romantically of course. And considering that the only two people that live in the house beside Elena are her aunt Jenna and Jeremy, we have some options.

We ring up their home phone and Jeremy answers. I opt to keep quiet during this conversation, not knowing how much he actually likes me considering my friendship with Tyler. Surprisingly enough, little Gilbert pulls through and says to come over anytime today and that he'll leave the back door unlocked. He also said that he'll help in any way he can which is very sweet and unusual.

"It's because he and Vicki are like, together-together now," Caroline says after the phone call ends.

"Wait, like, official?" I ask in shock. Damn, kid.

And so we send Stefan off with our blessing to do his best, wiping a stray tear away as he left. It's what I imagine sending your kid off to college feels like. "I'm proud of you, Care, helping Elena get a piece of ass like that. You've grown so much."

"Oh, shut up and tell me what you're wearing for the sexy suds car wash tomorrow."

Ugh oh. I forgot all about that.

"Um..."

"Right, come on, I bought a couple of new bikinis and you're going to wear one of them," Caroline says, getting up and grabbing her keys.

We pay before leaving and head to Caroline's house, her mom still not home yet. And when you say a 'couple' of something, you'd think two because a couple is made of two people, right? But of course, this logic doesn't apply to our Caroline who has ten different bikinis, you read right, ten. A little more then a couple if you ask me.

There are neon colours, there are strapless ones, there's even one that has sequins on it, and Caroline says I have to try on every single one of them until we find the perfect one. Thankfully, there was a more sporty style two-piece that had more support for the chest area and was just plain black.

"I'm not trying on the sequin one, Care! I'm happy with the sporty one!" I try and tell her, throwing the sequin mess back at her.

"Fine," she says in a huff, "But you're on clean-up duty tomorrow."

"What? Wait, everything is going to be clean anyway, it's a car wash. What do you mean clean-up duty?"

I get a lift home, waving goodbye to Caroline as she drives away. The house is filled with laughter and I wonder what's going on. I peak into the living room and spot my parents and little brother watching home videos and on the screen is...oh no.

"What're you guys doing?!" I ask, leaping over the coffee table and stopping the video. I can feel myself blushing furiously as they continue to laugh.

"You used to be such a cutie, dancing all over the football field."

"Mom!" I groan.

"You know," Dad said, "the coach was impressed with how fast you ran for your age, almost made it the full way."

"Ugh!"

"They'd never seen a streaker get so far before."

"Ah!" I cry, leaving the living room in embarrassment, bounding up the stairs, but not without taking a whole bag of Doritos for myself. Man, what are they doing watching home movies at a time like this? So uncalled for...

I settle down to catch up on homework and get some studying done, not wanting to lag behind despite everything that's been going on. Technically, with one less subject to worry about currently, I should be finding it much easier to handle all my other subjects. As soon as we get a proper history teacher back though, I have a feeling we'll be getting a lot of catchup material.

I end up falling asleep with the light on, laying on top of my bed alongside my notes, falling in and out of consciousness until eventually at some god awful time, I get up to turn the light off and crawl under the covers, not caring if my notes get crumpled.

* * *

"No freebies, no pay-ya-laters, no nothing," Caroline declares, "We are not running some charity here, people!"

"No, we are not!" Elena and I agree.

"Good," she replies, clipboard in hand, "Lana, go help out with washing the cars the now with Bonnie, Elena you're here for now."

"Right, I'll see you's later," I say, turning around to walk away but yelping when the back of my cropped hoody gets yanked. "Care!"

"Hoody, shorts, off, now," she says sternly, no room for argument.

I sigh before stripping off the remainder of my clothes, handing them and my phone to Elena for safekeeping before walking over to the car wash area where things were starting to get slightly busy. I find Bonnie and kick Tiki over so I could work with her, sorry Tiki. The music was upbeat and fun, and we laughed and danced.

Matt was kicking about too, looking gloomy over towards Elena and Stefan and wow, they are a good looking couple. But now isn't the time for checking out, now is the time for distracting Matt! Where is Tyler when you need him? Probably skiving again, damn it.

And so Bonnie and I jumped over to Matt, throwing cold water at him making him jump in shock. "Hey!" he called, throwing water back at us. Bonnie and I laughed as we ran away from Matt, splitting up so he'd have to chase only one of us. Thankfully, that person was Bonnie. Unfortunately, I ended up running into Chad, of all people.

"Ugh, hey Chad, sorry about that," I said awkwardly, letting go of him after steadying myself. "Hey, nice car!"

"Thanks, Skye," he said, less enthusiastic, "Are you...nevermind, you better get back to work or else Caroline might gut you."

Oh yeah, I forgot about Caroline's wrath. "Yikes, you're right, um, see you later," I say before rushing back to my station. Well, that was a weird conversation. Potentially the most awkward conversation I've ever had in my life, and I've had to come out the closet. Now that, that was awkward.

But anyway, I somehow didn't get caught messing about by Caroline, heading back to join the other two, laughing as we flicked water at each other occasionally. Apparently, according to Matt, Tyler refused to sign up for this event, which Caroline is definitely not going to forget anytime soon. I fear for that boy if he doesn't get his act together.

Oddly enough, Caroline disappeared halfway through the event which is very unlike her. Normally, she's the last one to leave these events, making sure everything is left properly and ready to be used for another day. Bonnie is also weirded out by this turn of events. Elena also disappeared at some point, leaving my things unattended! I'm just glad nobody took anything.

I message Caroline to let her know how the rest of the event was, asking if she was feeling okay. For a moment, I fear that Damon has somehow got to her again but my heart stops trying to escape my chest when I get an instant response. Cramps is her excuse, I'm not sure if I believe it.

"Skye, come on! Clean up!" Tiki calls, shoving a brush into my hands.

I roll my eyes as she walks away, giving Bonnie a brush as well. Bonnie does not look happy with how Tiki is treating her. But it's as I'm brushing the ground for whatever reason, that a sudden fire starts, heading straight for Tiki's car. Is that oil? It doesn't look like oil, it looks like water. What the -

I look over and see Bonnie in some sort of trance, completely out of it as the fire continues. It eventually reaches its target, and it's set aflame. That's when more people start to notice the fire and start calling out to get fire extinguishers. I rush over to Bonnie with the intention of bringing her back to the present, I meet Stefan as we reach her, obviously having the same idea.

"Bonnie, hey," Stefan says, trying to turn her away from the situation.

"Snap out of it, Bon," I say, shaking her lightly.

The glazed look in Bonnie's eyes fades and she blinks a few times, seemingly realising what's going on around her now. The fire has stopped, but the damage to Tiki's car has been done.

"What just happened?" she asked, looking still slightly out of it.

"You were in some sort of trance or something," Stefan says, glancing back to the burnt up car.

Bonnie turns around and sees the damage in disbelief. "Did I do that?"

"Naw, man," I tried lying, my voice cracking dramatically.

Stefan, on the other hand, goes with a better response. "I think so."

"Nobody else saw, did they?" she asks worried, glancing around at the rest of our fellow students who were staring in amazement at the car. "Please, don't tell anyone, will you?"

"Of course not," I said, Stefan nodding in agreement beside me.

And so Bonnie walks off quickly, grabbing her belongings and rushing to her car, clearly more on her mind than cleanup duty, completely valid. I think that'll be it for cleanup if I do say so myself.

"Have you seen Elene?" Stefan asks me suddenly.

I shake my head, "I thought you would know. Her and Care have been gone for a while now, huh..."

"Yeah," he agrees, chewing on his lip slightly and I get another question that, seeing as we're mostly alone, I can ask him.

"So wait, you can eat animals and all that," I say quietly, but not suspiciously so people won't think we're gossiping and try to butt in, "But could you not, you know, chew on another vamp? Or even yourself? Like, I know self-cannibalism is pretty gross but so are skunks, so."

Stefan shakes his head, a smidgen of a smile on his face. "You don't get any nutrients from yourself, kinda hurts more than it helps."

"Fair points. So, ugh, any chance I can get a ride home? I was gonna ask Bonnie but well, she was having quite a day."

"Sure," he replies.

"Here," I grab all the cleaning stuff he had on him, heading towards where people were packing up. A few high fives and well done's later, I walk back to where I see what looks to be Matt giving Stefan a pep talk. Cute, I hope they can eventually be friends.

Stefan drops me off home, and I think that today's drama has finally come to an end. I was fully prepared to spend the rest of the night finishing off homework and having some dance-off with Kieron when he finally came to annoy me, a regular end to another day.

So I wasn't prepared for the text that Stefan sent me:  
**"Damon's escaped, Zack's dead, Elena knows."**

Well. Shit.

* * *

_The two women lay beside each other, the ruffled sheets the only thing covering their dignity. The sun shines in brightly from the window, beginning its descent over the hills. Their hair was a mess, and the brunette spent her time brushing her fingers through the blondes as she lay beside her, content._

_"When do the rest of your family return?" she asks curiously._

_The blonde looks up at her with a sense of disappointment. "Do you not want me anymore?"_

_"What? That's not it, dear, that'll never be it," she replies, holding the insecure woman closer to try and ease her heart. "I don't think I wish to be with any man, ever. No matter who I've been with in the past, right now I'm yours. Only yours."_

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**Wordcount: 5,382  
Proofread?: I'm lazy sorry**

**Hey there! Hope you enjoyed, there were different directions that I thought this chapter could have gone with this episode, but I think another filler was needed, sorry. More will happen next chapter! Promise ^.^**

**I'm curious, who do you think these dreams are about? Because only Damon has been named in these dreams so far, no other names have been dropped. I wonder who you think who was who in the other dreams... Take a guess and let me know. Oh, how do you do this? Well, let me tell you about the handy dandy review button!**

**Yup, you can review right here, right now, don't even need an account! Amazing, right?**

_I reply to y'all_

**Queen24824 - Thanks for reviewing! Yeah, binge-watching is a pretty good way to pass the time. I wish I still had Canadian prime! I wanna watch all of Hell's Kitchen, it isn't available in the UK rip**

**Guest (March 29) - Thanks for taking the time to review! Sorry Lana isn't your favourite character, but that is kind of the point so you're having the right reaction at least! She isn't going to be in this story forever though, so hopefully, you'll stick with me through this part ^.^**

**Only reviewer - Oh my god, Skye and Lexi are gonna be a riot. Glad that Lana isn't bothering you too much. Thanks for reviewing again!**

**sam - aw, thanks for reviewing! ;)**

**Guest (April 1) - Wo! Thanks again for such a detailed review! Sad that you don't remember the fic with Stefan snacking on someone's dog, but it did make me laugh to know someone wrote that piece of comedy genius. Like I said above, Lana and Skye are obviously not endgame, but I felt like it was necessary to have her around for now. As for the dreams, as much as I want to spill everything, I can't! Not yet, at least.**

_**Thanks again to everyone who reviewed! I always enjoy reading them, and it is the best motivation ^.^**_


	10. Chapter 10 - Boarding House Party

**Whaaaat? This story has made it past 50k words? Madness. Unbelievable. Never thought we'd get this far, chapter 10, eek! Sorry it took so long to come out for what it is, but this global pandemic is really putting us through it, huh. Hope you're all staying safe!**

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Elena knows. That's the only thing that goes through my head as I read back the text. She knows...what? That's vague as hell, Stefan!

Does she know about vampires? Probably. Does she know that I know? Debatable. Does she know Damon's the one that has been causing mayhem and not Stefan? Probably not, probably didn't give Stefan a chance to try and explain anything, which is a pretty natural response if you ask me.

But I'm not sure where I'm supposed to stand in this parade. Should I message Elena and see how she's doing? But is that wise if she doesn't know that I already know because that's opening up a whole can of worms of how I managed to find out, and why I never told her and just, uh!

It is far too late to be getting into that, this is a tomorrow Skye problem. Yeah, I'll just pretend that I'm asleep.

Unfortunately, sleep did not come easy as despite ignoring the text Stefan sent, opting to get more information out of him tomorrow, I was still thinking about what was going to happen. So many questions running through my mind regarding how this is going to impact their relationship, our friendship, our way of living.

I mean, come on. Immortality is basically at your fingertips and it isn't tempting? Sounds fake, but okay. Sure, there are obvious downsides, but if given the chance I think I would turn. Not right now though, I want to look old enough to legally drink at least, please.

And that's the kind of thoughts that ran through my mind until eventually, I got too tired and finally knocked out into a thankfully dreamless slumber.

I woke up the next day to my phone buzzing and pinging constantly, making me groan because come on! It's a Sunday! Let me sleep, damnit! And then it's ringing, which is just great. Without opening my eyes in hopes of keeping some sleepy feeling, I search for my phone that's hidden somewhere under one of my pillows and press the button to answer.

"What?" I say, sounding like I'm going through puberty again.

"Morning, sleepyhead," I hear Damon's sing-song voice say.

And so I press end call and switch my phone onto silent.

That should do the trick for at least another hour or so of extra sleep. It's too early to be dealing with his ass. However, I didn't take into account that a goddamn bird would be knocking and squawking at my window not even ten minutes later! I can't catch a break, huh?

So, I get up to shoo the bird off and considering I'm already up and awake, with no chance of getting back to sleep, I go get ready. After showering and changing, I grab my phone and head downstairs to get breakfast.

"You're up earlier this morning," Dad comments, looking up from where he's sitting in at the kitchen table. I take note at how he sits with his back to the wall, facing the opening of the kitchen where you can look down the corridor. Never really paid attention to something like that until now, never needed to I guess.

"Yeah," I replied, getting a bowl and the cereal out of the cupboards, "A bird kind of woke me up, ruined my lovely sleep."

"Aw, shame," he replies, not looking sympathetic in the slightest. "Any plans for today?"

"Yeah, probably," I say, sitting down to eat and opening my phone to check all the messages I've missed.

Surprisingly, none from Elena. Yet. I wonder if Stefan is going to tell her... I mean, he probably should so everything is completely transparent but wow that is going to be a conversation. Checking Stefan's texts, I get my response.

**"I'm meeting up with Elena soon, what do you want to do? Do you want to tag along or do you want me to say anything?"** is the last message from him. A few other messages that I had missed from last night were along the lines of to be careful, don't leave the house when it's dark, etc. Damon doesn't have his ring meaning he can't walk in the daylight anymore, so he's stuck inside somewhere.

Which would explain all the messages I got from him this morning, all along the lines of:

**"Come over."**

I smile slightly as I eat my breakfast, typing my response. **"Is this a booty call?"**

He must be bored because I get an instant reply. **"If I say yes, will you come over?"**

I roll my eyes at that response. **"No."**

**"Why?"**

**"I don't wanna get eaten." **is my very valid excuse.

**"I promise not to eat you, please come over to the boarding house." **Hm, that isn't the most convincing thing I've ever heard.

**"No."**

**"Why?"**

**"I don't trust you."**

**"Smart, but come on. Scout's honour."**

I don't reply after that, rolling my eyes once more and finishing off my breakfast. No way am I going over to wherever the hell he is, I choose life, thanks. I clean up the mess I made in the kitchen and head back upstairs to start working on homework because despite the supernatural world suddenly being real, I still have to attend school.

Your world might be flipped turned upside down, but nobody knows about it which means I have no excuse for handing in late assignments. Just as I'm about to get started, my phone pings again and I sigh, ready to turn it on silent when I read what it says from Damon.

**"Last chance, Vicki and I are planning a party and it's invite-only..."**

What the hell does he mean by party? And why is Vicki of all people there with him?

**"Why is Vicki with you?"**

**"Come over and find out."**

**"Don't hurt her."**

**"Come stop me."**

Not quite sure if that's a threat or not, I groan before getting up, leaving my assignment behind. I put on a pair of converse and a denim jacket, grabbing everything I need, before heading down the stairs. I wave goodbye to my dad who is still sitting at the kitchen table before heading out the front door.

Thankfully living in a small town means the bus doesn't take long to get to your destination, however, if you miss the bus then it takes a while for another one to come. So I'm stuck walking to the boarding house after failing to catch the bus by 2 minutes, come on! Today is so not my day...

It's a nice walk to the boarding house though, especially heading up to the courtyard out the front with all the trees shading you from the sun slightly. With autumn coming round the corner, it won't be long until we're missing this weather. But for now, I'm ready for a glass of water whew, I'm thirsty.

I walk up to the house, already hearing music blasting and wondering what on earth I'm getting myself into.

Without knocking, I open the door to the boarding house and walk straight in, heading towards where the music is coming from, the living room. And there I see one Vicki Donovan in nothing but a tank top and underwear running left right and centre all the way around the room, talking trash about Tyler. Well then, this is awkward.

"But Jeremy, he's always seen the best in me."

"He's fifteen," I mumble, making Damon turn around to face me, a smirk appearing on his face. Vicki doesn't seem to notice me yet, continuing on with her drunken rant, lying down on the floor. I turn to Damon, "What is she doing here? Did you compel her?"

"Nice of you to join us, Skye," Damon evades, leading me further into the room, "Can I get you a drink?"

"Water, please."

"Nah, that's boring," he says, pouring some dark, strong-smelling liquid in a class, "Now, try that."

I look at it in slight disgust and then back at him. "I'm not gonna like this, and you know it."

That stupid smirk on his face basically confirms it, but he says, "Well, we won't know for sure until you try."

I check the time on my phone and deadpan. "Damon, it's not even 12 o'clock yet!"

"It's 5 o'clock somewhere, come on," he says, taking the glass in my hands and leading it towards my mouth.

With a roll of my eyes, I take a sip and immediately want to spit it out, but considering everything in this room is probably old and expensive, I'll opt-out of doing so. I cringe as the taste lingers, making Damon chuckle.

"Alright, I'll get you something a bit sweeter to drink if I can," he says, taking his glass back and zooming away, leaving me alone with a very drunk Vicki.

It's only then that she seems to notice me. "Oh, hey Skye! Come to join the party? I'm having so much fun!" she calls, spinning around in a circle and running forward onto the sofa.

I can't help but just wonder what the hell she's on right now because I have never seen anyone this off their rocket before. I try to get Vicki to stop moving for just one minute to figure out what on earth she's doing here, but she's too fast, so I opt to just stand there and asking questions as she zips by me.

"What're you doing here, Vicki?" I ask, trying to snatch her as she goes by me. "Does Matt know you're here?"

"Matt's busy, plus, I'm having too much fun!" she says rushing by me again and I, once again, fail to grab her.

I've got to get her out of here, it isn't safe for her to be alone with Damon, especially if he's pissed off by Stefan with having to be kept in the house while the sun is out. Is this why he's having this 'party'? Probably.

"Don't even bother, she's far too hyped up to leave now," Damon says, appearing once more with some bright pink fruity looking drink.

"Wow," I comment, taking it from him and taking a sip from the straw. My eyes widen because wow, that tastes good. "What even is this?"

"No idea," he replied quite happily, "I just kept adding drinks until it tasted sweet enough for your juvenile tastebuds."

"Whatever, just because I prefer to enjoy the taste of what I consume," I say, twirling the straw around. "What, no ice?"

"Don't want to dilute it now, do we?" Damon grins, clinking our glasses together and finishing his drink in one go. He looks down at me after expectantly, "Come on, bottoms up."

I sighed, giving him a serious look, "It's a Sunday morning, Damon, I'm not planning on getting smashed."

And well, how often do you ever plan these things, huh? Sure, on your birthday, after a bad break up, the usual. But I bet you don't go and plan to do this on a Sunday morning because I sure didn't and look where we are now!

"I feel good," I sing along to the music, using a bottle of tequila as a makeshift microphone and sliding into the living room in a pair of fancy socks I found in one of the bedrooms. "I knew that I would." And I shuffle further into the room, taking a swig from the bottle along the way.

After a couple of shots and a bottle of champagne spraying everywhere, I went and got changed out of my soaked jeans into a pair of old shorts from like the 60s or something, held up with my belt from my jeans, and throwing on a shirt I had found alongside the socks. And would you believe me if I told you I found a pair of funky looking sunglasses too up in these old boxes?

"Oh wow, I don't think I've seen anything like these since the 80s!" Damon says, appearing beside me and taking the bottle from me, taking a swig himself.

"Noooo, Damon!" I cried, trying to grab the bottle back from him because he was drinking it all!

I wasn't immediately like this after one drink, I swear I'm not that much of lightweight. But one drink as I said led to shots, and then I got Damon to try and make me another drink, and then we all done more shots, and then I had that one drink, and then the champagne incident happened, and I'm not sure if I drank anything in between getting changed upstairs and coming back downstairs to the kitchen.

The song changes and Vicki dances along, looking over and seeing me trying to fight Damon as he continues to drink, not even flinching from my attempts of attack. I can't believe Stefan was right, he'll never let me live it down, no!

"Dude! Share!" I say.

"Dude!" he replies, finally coming up for air after drinking half the contents, "It's my alcohol, back off!"

"You're the host! Share!"

"Don't fight, you two," Vicki says, "Come on, let's dance!" And she comes over, grabbing each of our hands and discreetly taking the bottle from Damon.

I spin Vicki around, and she does the same to me, Damon opting to dance on the bannister, his shirt wide open. Vicki and I sing along to any songs that we know the words to, making up lyrics to any we don't know, and it's amazing how alcohol just brings people together!

Looking back on it now, this probably wasn't my safest nor smartest move, but right here, right now? This was the most fun I've had in weeks!

We start a conga line of sorts, Damon leading the way upstairs and towards one of the bedrooms. The music can still be heard loud and clear from downstairs. And so Damon starts throwing things around, chair to the wall, books off the shelves. I go and start jumping on the bed, kicking pillows off and doing a flip, not even wondering whose room this belonged to.

I'm laughing as Vicki and I engage in a pillow fight, feathers flying everywhere when my own pillow smashes against the side of her head. I quickly leap off the bed and land on Damon's back as he's by the desk, accidentally pushing him in the light sorry.

"Skye!" he says, waving his hand to try and get rid of the burn quicker. Whoops!

"Save me, Damon!" I laugh, trying my best not to fall from his back. "The floor is lava, I can't touch it!" He sighs and I watch as he puts down an old looking photo. And hey, I recognise that person. "Wow, that looks just like Elena! Did Stefan draw that?"

But before he can comment on it, a pillow flies through the air and smacks me on the back of the head. "Ouch! Quick, retreat!" I declare, holding on tight, waiting for some super speed to happen.

However, the next thing I know, I'm being flung onto the bed beside Vicki, the pair of us laughing as we bounce. I only feel slightly woozy after.

"So, wait," I say, as we head back downstairs, getting spun once or twice along the way. "If you two are only a couple of many, many vampires, then aren't there any celebrity vampires?"

"Well, there was Princess Diana, but they put a stop to real quick."

"No," I gasp dramatically.

"Yes," Damon says just as dramatically.

"That's what happened to her?" I ask, allowing myself to be spun to the music once again. "Seriously?"

"That's what I heard anyway, that Queen Lizzy is a vampire too."

"Well, we knew she was some sort of duracell battery, didn't we?" I said, leading us towards the kitchen and hopefully some food! I'm so hungry. "Who else?"

Damon thinks for a moment as I practically have to drag him away from the living room, not knowing what these vampires do for food. "Well, obviously there's Anne Hathaway, duh."

"Duh."

"But then there's Benedict Cumberbatch...now I don't know what the hell he is, but he certainly isn't human, believe me." Damon rambled, going off on a couple of other supposed celebrities who I hadn't actually heard about. "What do you think the inspiration for Doctor Who was?"

"Shut up, it so wasn't," I laugh, opening up cupboard after cupboard, not sure what I could even make with what they have.

"It so was," Damon mimics, watching as I leave all the doors open. "Come on, what are you looking for?"

"Food, I'm so hungry and you haven't fed us, and I'm drunk so."

"So? So what?"

"So, it is your job as host to make something," I declare, hopping up on the counter with my arms crossed over my chest. "Or else."

Damon rolls his eyes, "Or else what?"

"Um," I didn't think he'd say that, whoops, "Or else...I'll call Stefan."

"Oh no," he says dramatically, placing a hand over his chest, "Not Saint Stefan, party police!"

I nod my head solemnly, the world moving just a bit slower than my vision is liking. "Yup, food please."

Now I can't tell if the alcohol is making him more blurry, or Damon is moving at that inhuman speed around the kitchen, grabbing different ingredients and I wonder what he's making. On the counter, I see a couple of bags of Dorito chips, lots of cheese, bbq sauce and some other ingredients and oh! Nachos! With as much flare as Gordon Ramsay himself, Damon prepares the drunken junk food in record time, and it already looks so good.

"Give it fifteen to twenty minutes, and we'll be good to go," he says, dusting his hands off.

"Can't wait," I reply, still sitting on the countertop. "So, why aren't you a celebrity?"

"Why? You trying to say I could be?" Damon says with that irritatingly confident smirk on his face. "My incredible good looks up to par with the hotshots?"

"As you said, you're immortal, why wouldn't you try and get famous for something?" I said shrugging, "Oh! Like the Olympics! You could compete in any of them and probably win."

"True," he says, a thoughtful look on his face. "But it'll be difficult to just suddenly show up, no previous history in the sporting community."

"Fair point," I sighed. "But why aren't you a superhero then?"

Damon snorts in amusement, trying hard not to laugh. "Come on, Skye, I'm much more likely to be the villain."

"And why's that?"

"They have better style."

"True, but you could totally change that stereotype," I insist. "Like, you have these powers that could help people and you don't do it, why?"

"What have people ever done for me?" Damon says, suddenly quite serious. He zips towards the shelf beside me, grabbing a glass and pouring himself another drink. "You do realise that vampires kill vampires who put their secret at risk, right?"

"Really?" I gasp.

"Really," he confirms. "It's a dangerous game, immortality. If you're in the spotlight too much, you'll get caught and killed, or wish you'd be killed. But if you don't go out into the world at all then, what's the point in living forever?"

Turning to look at me, I can't help but still be amazed with how blue his eyes are. The severity he spoke with makes me wonder just how long he's been alive, and what he must have gone through in that time, what Stefan and he have gone through. But at the same time...

"Wow, that's wise."

Damon chuckles, shaking his head slightly. "Showing my age."

"How old even are you and Stefan?" I asked.

"Guess," he said, leaning on the counter.

"Well, if you were a confederate soldier then you've got to be at least be from the 1860s," I say, trying to do mental maths to figure out exactly how old that would make him now.

"Wait," Damon said suddenly, waving his hands in front of him, a very confused look on his face. "How did you know I was a confederate soldier?"

He's staring straight at me and I stare back at him, unable to look away, and for a moment wonder... How did I know that?

"I..." I say, very helpfully, thinking back on our interactions. He never mentioned anything from his past to me or in front of me, was I compelled to forget maybe? But if that was the case then I surely wouldn't have remembered anything about it. Surely it couldn't be... "I...I had a dream about you."

"I'm flattered, please, do go on."

"Shut up," I say, hopping off the counter, but finding myself unable to move away as Damon closes in on me. "You're too close, you gotta...scootch." I try to move him backwards by pushing on his chest, but that was redundant. I tried again, a little harder this time which actually kind of hurt. He grabs onto my wrists as I go to try again, probably so I wouldn't damage myself any further.

"Oh, I'll 'scootch' once you tell me how you know that about me," he says sternly, staring me down hard. It's scary how quickly he changes from being this friendly guy who I can think for a second I can be friends with and trust, to this intimidating person threatening me and reminding me that my life could potentially be in danger. Oh, come on!

I'm trying my best to sober up now, trying to pull my hands away from him without success, trying to avoid eye contact because holding it for too long is nerve-wracking. "I told you, I don't know how I know. I had a dream, that's is."

"Look me in the eye and tell me that."

I can feel my heart beating in my chest as I look up at him, wondering if he's going to try and compel me. I wonder how long vervain stays in your system for?

"The only reason I can think of how I know that is that I had a dream," I insisted, putting my heart on my sleeve, "I swear."

Damon stares back at me, unblinking. His face is hard and doesn't give away anything, meaning I can't read him at all. The longer he seems to ponder my words, the more nervous I get, wondering what he's going to do. I don't dare to try to get him to release me, I don't think I could look away now if I tried.

But then our mini staring contest is broken apart by the sound of the timer going off, signalling the food is ready. We both whip our heads round to the oven, and Damon finally lets me go, grabbing a glove to take the dish out. I try and calm my beating heart once he steps away, not entirely sure how to act now.

"I'll go see if Vicki wants some, dig in," he says, moving back towards the living room and leaving me alone in the kitchen.

I don't mean to, but I let out a sigh of relief as I'm left to my own devices. I grab a stool and sit by the counter, munching on the food. Despite its simplicity in the junk food scale, this might be the best set of nachos I've ever had. I need to tell Tyler to up his game!

And oh. I remember once more that Tyler isn't speaking to me. He isn't speaking to me because of Lana. He doesn't like Lana because she punched me, which is a fair reason to not like someone. But shouldn't I be the judge of who I can and can not potentially date?

It's been a couple of days, Caroline said to leave it a couple of days, maybe he'll talk to me now? Well, if I'm telling him about the best batch of nachos I've ever had, he might be curious enough to message me back.

Yeah, I'll text him. But...where's my phone?

I pat the pockets of the shorts and shirt I'm wearing, feeling nothing. Where is it? I know for a fact I brought it here. Is it in my pile of clothes upstairs? Or is it in my jacket? I took my jacket off, but where did I put it? Living room maybe?

And then I realise, feeling more sober than I did ten minutes ago, that Damon still isn't back with Vicki who I know for a fact must be hungry if she has been here all night. What's keeping them?

I've almost finished this whole dish of nachos, so I hop off the stool and head to the living room, just to double-check no one else wants any before I finish them off. I'm gonna need to get a sober rundown on how to make these because nachos have never been so perfect before.

Turning the corner into the extravagant living room which has is currently a bit of a mess, I look around and see Damon putting his hand to the crack in the curtains, testing to see whether his hand is burning (which it is) with his back facing me. I look around the rest of the room, wondering if Vicki has gone to the bathroom when I see her on the floor, neck twisted horribly.

A stray cry leaves me and I stare back towards Damon who has turned around and only just realised I'm standing there.

I only blink once to fight back tears and he's right in front of me, holding me in place, hands on my shoulders. Staring intently at me he says, "You don't remember what you just saw."

But I look away, glancing through the gap in his arms and still see Vicki's unmoving body crumpled on the floor. I look back up at him, and ask "Was that supposed to be compulsion?"

Damon's face twitches slightly in annoyance. "Damn vervain," he curses, not moving away from me just yet.

Without thinking, I hit his chest, but that does nothing. So I hit him again, and again, feeling like I may be hurting myself more than I'm hurting him. "Don't! Don't try and compel me again! You're such a dick! Why? Why did you kill her?"

And I feel cold, or I must be feeling cold after sobering up because I'm shaking. Alcohol keeps you warm, so I must have been cold this whole time, right? It must have just worn off, but why can't I just stop shaking?

I go to look at Vicki once more but Damon steps in front of me this time, blocking her from view. "I guess I can't convince you she broke her own neck, huh...Alright, Skye, go back to the kitchen, I'll deal with this."

"What do you mean 'deal' with?" I ask, "What am I supposed to tell people that ask where she is? What am I supposed to tell Matt, oh god, Matt..." And I want to cry, but I can't. I feel numb almost. Vicki didn't deserve this. She...

And then we hear her groan.

I stare at her in shock as she moves, rubbing her neck and turning to face us from the floor. "What happened?" she asks.

"Vicki, you're okay," I say, breathing a sigh of relief and trying to move past Damon to get to her. I only past his shoulder before being stopped.

Completely out of the blue and with no tact at all, Damon drops a bombshell on her. "You're dead. I killed you."

"I'm dead?" Vicki says, sitting up in confusion.

"She's dead?" I clarify because I didn't know ghosts were a thing now too. Mystic Falls can't seem to catch a break! And no, if Vicki is actually dead then what am I supposed to do? And how can I see her?!

"Alright, let's not make a big deal out of it," he says, moving the two of us further into the room, towards the sofa. "You drank my blood, I killed you, and now you have to feed in order to complete the process."

The process...? Oh no, she's becoming a vampire!

"You're wasted, dude," Vicki groans, getting to her feet and moving through the sunlight. Wait, she moved through it? She's not a vampire yet! Does that mean we can stop it?

Damon leaves my side and appears in front of her. "You don't want to be leaving, things are about to get really freaky."

"Okay, I had a great time, but I just wanna go home," she says, putting on the rest of her clothes.

"You're gonna start craving blood," Damon tells her, "And until you get it, you're going to be very out of it. You have to be careful." It almost sounds like he cares if you excuse the fact that he wasn't trying to actually stop Vicki from leaving!

"Move," Vicki says, shoving him out of the way. And I know for a fact that that is a difficult thing to do, so he let her. "I'm going home now."

"Okay, fine, I'm just warning you," Damon says, holding his hands up in defence. "Actually, you should go." What is he doing? "In fact, if I were you I'd stop by your boyfriend Jeremy's house."

"Wait, Vicki, have something to eat before you go," I said, trying to stop her from getting into any trouble. I also don't want to be putting Elena and her family in trouble. Maybe if I can stall long enough, I can get Stefan to come and help. Oh yeah, my phone! Where is my phone?!

"I'm alright, Skye, I'll eat at home," she says, waving me off. "Are you staying?"

Before I can reply, Damon interrupts, "Yes, yes she is. We've got a lot more to discuss."

I glare at him, but the look he gives me makes me think that I shouldn't try and leave just yet. I sigh before turning back to Vicki, "Yeah, I'm staying. Text Matt and let him know you're okay!"

"Yeah, yeah," she says, nodding her head, "Will do, have fun you two."

"If you see Stefan, tell him to call me," Damon says as she leaves. "And then there were two."

"So what now?" I ask, crossing my arms over my chest. "And where's my phone?"

"Now we wait," he replies, walking past me to go change the song playing.

"Phone? Where?" I ask again.

"Don't know, where'd you leave it?"

"Don't try and sound like my mom."

"Did you check where you left the rest of your clothes?" he asked, pouring yet another drink. Vampires must have a higher tolerance than humans or else his liver is fucked. "Speaking of, where did you get that shirt? I haven't seen that in like twenty years or something."

"Is that why it smells so bad?"

"Hey."

"Just saying," I tell him, leaving to head upstairs. "I'll be right back, gonna see if my clothes are dry."

It would help if I remembered exactly what room I changed in, to be honest, this house is massive and has lots of rooms, some messier than others no thanks to our partying so it takes me a while to finally find the right room, right at the end of the corridor.

The room is much emptier than any other room I've seen in this house, only containing a king-sized bed, bedside table and a dresser. It wasn't completely barren though as the ensuite bathroom looks quite fancy, and I place my bets on that door lying wide open is a closet where I got these clothes. Whoops.

And there my clothes are! Lying in a lovely pile, but thankfully quite dry now. They don't smell too strongly of alcohol, but I'm not going to be wearing these for any length of time as soon as I get home if I can help it.

I quickly change and start trying to clean up the mess I made. Something tells me Damon isn't going to do it, and Stefan might not have time to do so considering what's on his plate. And Zack...

Sighing, I try not to think about the fact that nobody knows what happened to him. Nobody has even realised yet, Zack always was a bit of a hermit. But something tells me the brothers aren't going to find it difficult to come up with some sort of cover story as to his whereabouts.

"Skye?" I hear Damon call.

"What?" I call back, folding things back into the boxes drunk-me had found them in. I'll admit I'm still not completely sober, but I have much more control over my actions now.

"What are you doing in here?" Damon says, now right behind me.

"Oh, this is where I got the clothes. It was a bit of a mess so I was tidying up," I told him, shoving the box into the closet and closing the door.

"I thought I locked the door," I heard him mumble

"What's so important about this room that it would need to be locked?" I asked, rolling my eyes slightly, "There's nothing in here."

"It's my bedroom," Damon replies, smirking.

Oh. Ooooh. Oh.

I try and pretend my heart didn't jump at that knowledge. "Ah, nice place you got here. Sorry for disturbing, wanna head back downstairs?"

"No need to bother," Damon replies, moving past me to get to his closet. "I need to shower anyway, wanna join?"

"I'm good, thanks," I deadpan, blessing my cheeks for not going red. Yes! A win!

He picks out the clothes he wants, flinging them on the bed and takes off his shirt that's not been buttoned up all day. "You should, you smell like alcohol."

"You get ready, I still need to find my phone," I say, going to leave when he appears in front of me, shirtless. Oh boy... "You've gotta stop doing that disappearing act, it's giving me a headache."

"Hmm, I'm sure it does." Wow, it's not fair how he can sound so patronising but still look so hot. Be still my beating heart. "As for your phone, I found it," he says, brandishing it from his back pocket.

"Hmm, I'm sure you did," I reply, not believing him for a second. He holds it up but doesn't give it to me.

I reach to take it but he, of course, pulls his hand back. "Ah, ah! Not yet," Damon says, giving me that intimidating look again. "Now, how did you know about my past which I sure as hell didn't tell you, and I know Stefan didn't tell you."

"How do you know he didn't?" I challenge.

"Because why would he?" Damon scoffs, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, he struggles to share information about himself, nevermind literally anybody else."

"Fair point," I agree, and sigh. "But I was telling the truth earlier on."

"You were very drunk, I couldn't have been sure," he says, finally moving away and towards his bathroom. I hear the shower go on and scoff myself. Does he have no boundaries? "So, you dream about me?"

I roll my eyes, "I'll meet you downstairs." He still has my phone. And if it weren't for the fact that I would risk seeing more of Damon than I want to, I would so go and get it.

So downstairs I wait, finishing off the rest of the nachos in the kitchen, waiting for Damon to hurry up as I watch the sunset. He'll be able to leave soon, and then people are going to be in trouble... I wonder how Vicki's doing, I hope she's okay. Maybe she did go to Jeremy's, and maybe Elena and Stefan and there and he's helping her understand what's going on. Maybe I'm worrying for nothing and she's fine!

Wishful thinking, honestly.

Damon makes his way into the kitchen looking as fresh as a daisy, leather jacket and bad boy vibes all lined up.

"Why are you so interested in the fact I knew you were a Confederate soldier?" I asked suddenly, having enough of this beating around the bush act. "And what's the fascination with my birthmark? I know you vampires live off the mystery and all that, but come on. I can't help you if I don't know what I'm supposed to know."

With a solemn look, Damon's gaze heads towards where the sun is still visible in the sky, slowly but surely setting. He would be able to leave the boarding house within the hour.

For a moment I'm not sure if we're about to have this conversation when he sighs, shrugging his shoulders. "It's not the fact you knew I was a confederate soldier, my name was on the original registry for this town so it's safe to assume you could have simply guessed that I was. But it's the fact you called me lieutenant, you knew my rank. There was no way you would have known that from the founder's party, nothing would have given that away, and why would Stefan have ever mentioned it to you otherwise."

I nod my head to show I'm listening as he rambles, not wanting to interrupt and scare him off from telling me what this whole dance is about.

"And your birthmark, well. I knew someone who had one just like it," he admits, and my eyes widen at that. "It was on their chest though, not their neck, so they could hide it quite well. And we were comrades together in the war, good friends..."

"He died, didn't he?" I said quietly after he trailed off.

Damon looks at me amazed. "Yes." is all he says.

"You were there when it happened," I pushed, licking my lips which were suddenly quite dry. Damon continues to stare at me, so I continue talking, "He wasn't paying attention, you tackled him, he still got hit..."

"Don't..."

"He was there when you found out about your promotion, you were friends..."

Damon appears in front of me suddenly, staring down at me with mixed emotions crossing through him. Pain, anger, confusion... "Stop it."

Without really thinking I lean forward and wrap my arms around him, leaning my head on his chest. How odd it is that it doesn't make a sound, hardly moves. "It wasn't your fault," I whispered, not sure why I was trying to comfort him.

And for the last few moments, before the sun finally set, we stood like this in the kitchen, my arms wrapped around Damon as he neither reciprocated nor rejected the comfort I tried to give him.

Despite this revelation, neither of us know exactly what this means, and something tells me it's going to be a while until we do.

* * *

_"Alright, listen up! Take a good look at the man standing across from you, gents. You're going to be seeing a lot of each other. That is the man you will be assigned to train and bunk with, get along, the only way you get paired with someone new is if one of you gets killed."_

_And so introductions were due as those around me began to shake hands with the men in front of them. I looked forward at who I was partnered with. Early twenties at most, black hair, blue eyes, and a friendly smile._

_"Damon Salvatore," he says, extending a hand forward._

_I shake his hand, introducing myself, "James Jacobson, my friends call me Jim."_

_"Nice to meet you, Jimmy," Damon says._

_I feel myself smile, not bothering to correct him, something telling me that it wouldn't make a difference anyway._

* * *

**Wordcount: 6,898  
Proofread: I'll apologise in advance**

**Sorry that it took a bit longer to get this out, quarantine really is making these days melt together. I dunno, I kind of like this chapter. Bit filler-ish, but it's got a load of Damon in it which I hope some folk like. And the plot thickens with the birthmark!**

**Some parts of this may seem a bit iffy, so again sorry, but hopefully you still enjoyed. Again, stay safe and stay at home if you can during all this, wherever you are.**

**Remember to review! I'll reply to you here!**

_Here I reply_

**Only reviewer - Caroline is a supportive ally, I speak it into existence. And oh yeah, rip Skye when she sees Elena again**

**HPuni101 - Thanks for reviewing! Can't wait to post more!**

**Guest - Don't feel too bad for Lana just yet... But yeah, Tyler isn't exactly keen on Skye being in a relationship where she might end up getting hurt, physically and emotionally. Klaroline is actually one of my favourite ships, but that mess is very far down the line from where we are at right now. And oh Chad, bless. Thanks again for such a detailed review! It helps me with the writing process!**

**DaphneSlytherinWinchester - :) maybe. Thanks for reviewing!**


	11. Chapter 11 - Halloween Bites

**Whoops, being lazy and not bothering to proofread really came and bit me in the ass, huh? A couple of you lovely reviewers pointed out I didn't actually add in a scene where Skye finds out Damon's rank in the military. Turns out I did write that very scene and then just. Didn't add it. And didn't realise. Go me~**

**So, sorry if there is any confusion, maybe I'll add that very brief scene in here somewhere just to fix things up. I dunno. I write the author's note before the chapter.**

**I'm sorry, it's the easiest part T-T**

* * *

And after that conversation came to a painfully awkward end, another one began as I soon found myself on my way to and soon in front of Elena's door, Damon right behind me leading me along.

"When you said we weren't taking the car, I thought the next option was the bus," I groaned, feeling like I just went on a rollercoaster at superspeed. Rollercoasters are fun, but not when you don't know you're on one.

"Come on," Damon said, straightening out his jacket as I tried to compose myself, not entirely sure the alcohol has left my system yet. "That was fun, and you know it."

"Mmhmm, whatever you say, bud."

"Enough chitchat, let's go," he says, grabbing me from behind and directing us towards Elena's house.

I dig my heels into the ground to try and slow him down, to no avail. I really don't wanna do this right now, and I tell Damon that. "I really don't wanna do this right now," I said, leaning back against his chest and trying to move him away from the door, but he still manages to knock on it despite my efforts. "Come on, why'd you have to drag me along?"

The door opens revealing Elena whose eyes widen. Immediately she tries to shut the door and - hey, I'm not worth saving? Then again, I'm probably a lost cause. Proceed.

Damon manages to catch the door before it fully shuts with his hand, pushing it back open and me forward. Ah, I'm a human shield now. Makes sense.

"Go upstairs, Jeremy," she tells her brother who, as an uninterested teenager would, does as he's told without question. "Skye, what're you doing with him?"

"I'm not an accessory to his actions, merely a victim."

"Skye." Oh, she is _not_ happy with me today.

"I don't wanna be here," I summarise. The look that she gives me though suggests that it isn't good enough, and I have a feeling we're going to be having a conversation after all this has settled.

However, she does grab my arm and quickly pulls me away from Damon and behind her.

"Ah," he says, still standing at the entrance of the house. "You're afraid of me. Good. I'm glad Stefan finally fessed up, lying is never a good start to any relationship."

"Stay away from us," Elena says shakily, glaring daggers at our vampire companion.

"Hey, hey, hey, no need to be rude, I'm just looking for Stefan." Something tells me he isn't here right now considering he isn't standing as a bodyguard right now. "May I come in? Oh, wait, of course, I can. I've been invited," Damon says cockily, walking straight in and closing the door behind him.

As Elena shuffles us back I roll my eyes at his attitude, not quite as afraid as her. "Such a dick..." I mutter, knowing he can probably heard me but not really caring. Which all in all is probably quite dangerous now that I really think about it.

"We can cut to the chase if you want, I'm not going to kill you right now," Damon says, oh so generously, "That wouldn't serve my greater agenda." Hm, and I wonder what that greater agenda is.

Maybe with my non-existent detective skills alongside my ability to somehow not be killed at every chance I get spending time with Damon I could discover that mystery. Something for the back burner. Right now my main priorities are making sure Damon doesn't kill Elena, finding out where on earth Stefan is, and getting my damn phone back.

After that, it'll depend on who has messaged me the most that will take priority. Probably my mom, oh great. I can't wait for that.

"Now," Damon says, grabbing back my attention, "Where's Stefan?"

Elena practically spits venom saying, "He's gone looking for Vicki."

"Don't look at me with those judgey little eyes," he said stepping towards us. Elena tries to back us up further not realising my back is already against the damn wall and I am now squished. "That girls gonna thank me for what I did." That sounds fake, but ok.

"Did you thank Katherine?" Elena threw back and wow, that's ballsy.

I don't think Damon had quite been expecting that and he chuckled lightly, stepping away and giving me some air to breathe thank god. "Got the whole life story, huh?"

"I got enough," she replies.

Damon scoffs, "Oh, I doubt that."

And not to play the middleman, but I do too. Stefan only knows his side of the story, everything that he thinks he knows of Damon's is just his assumptions, which means he may be wrong.

And then Damon starts heading towards the door, "Tell my brother I'm looking for him."

"Damon!" I call as he opens the door. He turns to me with an expectant smirk. "Phone?"

"Oh, right," he says, reaching into his jacket pocket and throwing me my phone. "I almost forgot." Yeah right.

"I bet you did," I replied with a roll of my eyes, opening it up to oh my god, over fifty missed messages. "My mom's gonna kill me..."

Damon sighs in mock frustration, "Yeah, it hasn't stopped buzzing all day. You're just so popular, I guess." I glare at him and his damn smirk as he finally heads out the door, but not without popping his head back in to say, "Oh, tip for later. Be careful who you invite into the house."

Elena lets out a sigh of relief as he finally leaves, and I open my phone to start checking messages.

At a quick glance, I see a few messages from Caroline about the pride event coming up, a couple of messages from Matt asking if I've seen Vicki, a whole thread of messages from Lana which I'll look back on later, something from Chad saying we need to talk - weird, a few concerned texts from Stefan, and even a message from Tyler! And as much as I want to look at all of these, the amount of missed calls and messages from my mom is slightly concerning.

What's more concerning though is that tapping noise, like someone tapping their foot impatiently on the floor.

I bite my lip, looking up from my phone to see a very unamused Elena staring at me, arms crossed over her chest. Uh oh...

"...sup."

"We need to have a chat," she says with her no-nonsense attitude in place. I'm not getting out of this one.

I sigh, "I was afraid of that. Mind if I call my mom first to let her know where I am?"

Elena sighs, but ultimately nods her head. "Sure."

"I need to get her to write my will quickly."

"Skye!"

"Sorry, sorry," I quickly apologise, not wanting to drag myself further up shit creek.

And so I call my mom who answers on the first ring and that's how I know I'm in trouble. After explaining to her that I was out with Stefan and Elena all day, that we were around town and I hadn't realised my phone had run out of charge until it was too late and I've only managed to get it charged now, etc, etc. The usual.

It's a believable story if you know me, to be honest, but try at your own risk though.

After finishing the phone call with my mom, I head to the kitchen where Elena is cleaning up, seemingly trying to distract herself from everything that's going on.

"Hey," I said, announcing that I'm done talking to my mom, "Wanna catch up?"

She nods her head, putting the towel down and indicating that I should sit. "Tea? Coffee?"

"Just water, thanks," I reply, catching the bottle of water she gets from the fridge.

Elena sits across from me at the table, picking her nails nervously. "How long have you known?" she asks quietly, I almost didn't hear her.

"Not long," I say, "A little over a week I think?"

"So, you knew about Caroline and Damon?" she says accusingly.

"Hey, I got him to agree to stop seeing Caroline as soon as the Founder's party was over," I said trying to defend myself. "Plus, what could I have done. Not having superpowers doesn't exactly put me at an advantage in a fight."

"Still," Elena said, "You could have told her mom, maybe she could have done something."

"Then Stefan would have been put at risk," I said, hoping that bringing him up won't shoot me in the foot. I hope the two of them are still okay. "If you were able to find out that he was a vampire then so would they if there was a reason to suspect."

"Who's they?"

"Others that know vampires exist and want to kill them," I explained. "The founders knew that vampires existed all them years ago, right? They kept records of absolutely everything in them days, so why wouldn't there be records of vampires? So, our generation of founders might know what's up, and your boyfriend would be put right in the line of fire."

Elena looked off to the side, crossing her arms over her chest and keeping a blank face. "He might not be my boyfriend for much longer..."

Sorry, did I hear that right? "What?" I asked.

"All this is so much, Skye," she says, looking exhausted now that I think about it. "I said that I would give him today to tell me everything, and I did, and then everything with Vicki happened and she said you were with Damon and we didn't know what to think - "

"You sound like my mom," I chuckle.

"Skye!" Elena yells in frustration.

"Sorry!" I apologised again, leaning over the table and grabbing her hands. "I'm sorry. Damon messaged me this morning telling me to come over, and I wasn't going to until he said he had Vicki and I didn't want to leave her alone with him in case something happened but..." I look down at the table, suddenly realising, "I guess that didn't matter though...she still got hurt."

"It's not your fault, Skye."

"It is, though," I replied, taking my hands back and sitting up. "Oh, god! I'm an idiot! And Vicki might turn into a vampire because of me. Did Stefan say if there was any way she could stay human? Maybe reverse the process?"

My heart drops when Elena shakes her head, and I want to cry. I shouldn't have been so stupid, I shouldn't have left Vicki on her own, I shouldn't have trusted Damon further than I can throw him. I'm such an idiot!

"Skye, it isn't your fault," Elena tells me, and as much as I want to believe her I just can't. "Damon...that was his plan from the start, the news today showed that Vicki's friends were...oh, god, so much has happened recently, has it all been because of them?"

We sit in silence for a minute, contemplating just how much our lives have changed in such a short period of time. I feel worse for Elena though, still having the pain of losing her parents on her back and trying to keep her brother afloat. I can't imagine it.

At least at the end of this night, of any bad night, I can go to my house and be greeted by my mom, my dad, occasionally my little brother. No vampires have been invited into my house, I have no reason to fear going to bed at night...

"Tell me," I say, trying to hopefully distract us from our less than happy thoughts, "What did you and Stefan discuss today? I think he mentioned he was coming clean about everything?"

"Yeah, he told me everything," Elena said and began to tell me everything she learned today. Everything from where the brothers grew up, exactly how old Stefan was - wow what an age gap - to everything that happened with Katherine.

And wow, Katherine sounds like a right cunt. Am I allowed to say that? It's my inner monologue, I'll allow it.

"God, what a bitch," I commented, shaking my head. "I mean, they're both gorgeous but goddamn, woman. Just pick one!"

While in the middle of telling her what went on at the boarding house earlier today, our conversation gets cut short by the sound of the door knocking. The pair of us get up to see whose there. Checking the peephole, Elena quickly opens up the door and steps out to greet Stefan.

"You're bleeding," she said, holding onto him and oh, wow, that is a nasty wound.

"No, no, it's okay," Stefan says, trying to reassure her. "I'm okay." And then he notices me in the background. I send him a wave and the signature 'white person' smile. "Skye, you're okay?"

"Peachy," I replied, "I'll live but how's Vicki?"

Stefan's defeated demeanour doesn't give me much hope. "I couldn't stop her, I tried..."

"What does that mean?" Elena asks.

"She fed," Stefan says, looking down, "And then I lost her."

Oh god, Vicki... That means she's a vampire. Matt's sister is a vampire. Someone from our town has just been turned into a vampire. This is insane, this is madness.

As Stefan tries to reassure Elena that everything will be alright, I can't help but think how that it's all just hopeful wishes, little white lies to try and make everything seem better. But Vicki Donovan, a girl of eighteen years of age, is a vampire.

Living forever is one thing, but living forever stuck in your teenage years? God, I can't imagine.

I sit down on the steps to the porch, wondering what her life is going to be like now. You can't hide that you aren't ageing for very long, especially in such a small town, a town that has knowledge on vampires none the less.

"I can't be with you Stefan, I just can't..." I hear Elena say to him, turning back around and heading towards the house. She looks heartbroken as she looks down on me.

"I can make my own way home," I tell her gently, standing up, "But do you need me here?"

Elena shakes her head, on the verge of tears but clearly needing time for herself. She walks by me and back into her house, shutting the door behind her. My heart goes out to her, having her world flipped upside down so suddenly.

But I turn back to Stefan who looks even more defeated, beat down by life.

"Hey," I say, walking up to him. "Come on, let's go look for Vicki."

"What?" he says, tunning back in.

"You drive, I'll call Damon, let's go," I tell him, heading towards his car.

"Wow, wow, wow," he says, appearing in front of me. "Look, I'm taking you home, it's dangerous to be out here with a brand new vampire on the loose."

"I'll be fine, Stefan," I say, hopping into the front seat and already unlocking my phone, seeing a second message from Tyler which gives me an idea. "I might even have reason to believe where she might head to."

With Jeremy out of the question and the fact that she ran away from Matt, the only other person that I can think of that Vicki would go to would be Tyler, and considering he just messaged me saying that he'll be leaving the gym soon means she hasn't got him yet.

I send Tyler a text back, letting him know that I'm up for talking to him once he's home safe.

I relay everything to Stefan, and then later to Damon once he picks up his damn phone on the third call.

"What do you want? Has spending all day with me not been enough for you?"

"Sorry? Super-hearing but you can't hear your phone going off for the past five minutes?"

"Can you two please not fight?"

And Stefan pulls up outside the boarding house where Damon is stood waiting. Stefan rushes inside to get a fresh shirt and for a moment I'm left alone with the resident murderer.

"What are you doing here?"

"I wanna make sure my friends don't die?" I say, thinking my presence was quite obvious.

Thankfully Stefan returns not a moment later but I found out they don't want to take the car.

"Oh, come on."

"You don't have to come along if you don't want to," Damon quips.

"I'm coming," I insist, not trusting him to not further hurt my friend group. "But why do we have to Barry Allen everywhere?"

"Barry Allen?" Stefan asks.

"DC superhero, runs fast," Damon quickly explains, waving his hand dismissively. "But listen here, you said he's done in what, five minutes from now? Taking the car takes longer. That might cost him his life."

I sighed realising he's probably right, but not liking it. "Fine, just please give me a warning before we go."

Damon smirks, and I thankfully prepare myself in time because I had no warning from him. Instead, I go from standing fairly normally to being moved at an insane speed, hair whipping around me that I failed to tie up.

After what feels like forever, we finally stop on the outskirts of the gym's parking lot.

"You can let go now," Damon says beside me far too cocky.

"I need a second," I say, using him to ground my bearings. "If I'm throwing up, I'm throwing up on you."

And Damon zips away to the side, a look of disgust on his face making me laugh. Stefan soon enough appears beside Damon, sending him an exasperated look, clearly done with his shit.

It feels weird low-key stalking my best friend, doing a stakeout kind of like all of the cop shows except I don't have a gun. And the three of us don't have to wait long before we see Tyler walk out the gym, heading towards his car. He's one of the last ones to leave, so the car park is pretty much empty.

Which is good because we can see exactly when Tyler is getting attacked - I didn't expect it to be so soon - and the brothers don't look suspicious as they appear out of nowhere, hopefully, there's no CCTV around. But it isn't great because I'm running to catch up.

"Let go of me!" I hear Vicki yell and I pick up the pace.

"Stefan, what the hell is going on?" Tyler asks. "What's wrong with her?"

"You, don't talk," Damon says. He's so rude.

"Screw you, dude," Tyler responds and now I'm worried.

"Dude? Really? Dude?" Damon says mockingly.

"Damon," Stefan warns, still holding onto Vicki, "Don't."

"Come on," I hear Damon say, "Who is gonna miss this idiot?" Oh no, not happening.

"Ty!" I call, approaching and thankfully reaching him before anything else can happen.

"Skye? What're you - "

But before I can even begin explaining anything to him, Damon moves forward and grabs him by the throat, lifting him up effortlessly. All this enhanced ability is quite terrifying and I am not keen.

"Let him go, Damon," I say, trying to grab his arm but getting held back by the other.

"Forget what you saw here tonight, none of us were here," Damon says, clearly compelling him.

And then he goes...and throws him...over his car!

"Damon!" I yell smacking him only once because the second time I tried he was gone, along with Stefan and Vicki. I take this time to run around the side of the car and check on Tyler who was on the ground, groaning. "Ty! Hey, are you okay?"

"Skye?" he says, taking my hand and getting up. "What're you doing here?"

"I figured it would be easier to talk in person," I said, which is partially true. "You've been ignoring me for the past few days, why?"

Tyler sighs, opening the passenger's side and nodding his head towards it. "Come on, let's go get some fast food and I'll take you home."

"And we'll talk?"

"Yeah," Tyler smiles, "Yeah, we'll talk."

I nod my head, getting into the car, letting him close the door behind me. It's nice being back in his car, it's been a while. We end up putting the radio on low while heading out of town to the closest fast food joint we can find. And because I'm not sponsored, there won't be a brand mentioned.

After getting our burgers, we joke about how after workout meals are just the best, and I missed this. But we clearly need to address the elephant in the room.

"Look," Tyler sighs, twirling a fry in between his fingers. "You know I don't care about who you're with as long as they treat you right, but personally I don't think Lana's gonna treat you right. I mean, she punched you not even what, a day after asking you out or something?"

"We're looking over that, plus she apologised and is teaching me self defence and stuff," I tried to reason, definitely sounding more like excuses. "If she ever tries it again, I'm done, no exceptions."

"Yeah, better be," he agrees, taking a massive bite out of his burger.

"But why were you so mad at me?" I asked nervously, picking at the wrapper my burger came in. "Like, you were really mad at me. What changed?"

Tyler breathes heavily through his nose, continuing to eat and making a show of it to show his mouth's full. "I wasn't so mad at you," he manages to say, still chewing on his food. "I was mad at your decision, which yeah, yeah, isn't fair but come on, Skye. You can do better than her."

"Honestly Ty," I say, "I don't know if it'll last."

"Good."

"Oh, thanks a lot."

"No, it's good," he insists, "because then you can finally go out and find someone that gives a shit about you, and not just because you're one of the only girls out in school that's fit."

"Oh, thanks, Ty."

"You're a mess," he says sassily, "But you're a hot mess."

"Hell yeah, I am," I grin, glad we've pretty much resolved things.

It's on the drive back home that I'm looking through the messages Lana sent me, reading them out to Tyler as since he is driving can't read them himself.

**"Hey, Skye! What're your plans for today, want to meet up?"  
"Hey, there's this thing on the Grill later if you're free?"**  
**"...hello?"**  
**"Look, if you don't wanna go then just say..."**  
**"This silent treatment is reaaal mature."**

"Drop her," Tyler says, shaking his head. "Not worth the trouble, get her out of here."

"That isn't the last of it."

"Oh boy..."

"I'm not reading these out," I tell him, deleting the whole thread.

"Skye!"

"Look, it was just drunken texts, half of it didn't make sense."

"Then read the ones that did!" Tyler says.

"I deleted it," I told him, making him groan and complain. "But you know what's weird? I got a message from Chad today as well saying that he wants to talk, what do you think it's about?"

"No clue," Tyler replies, shaking his head slightly. "I haven't really spoken to the guy in a while, he doesn't like you and Lana together though."

"So I heard."

"High school drama, you gotta love it," he says, grinning before pulling up beside my house.

We bid each other good night, glad that we had made up by the end of the day, and I head inside. Silence. The lights were off, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. Everyone has gone to bed, meaning it might not be a pleasant start to tomorrow... But at least I had a semi-pleasant dream, or vision, or whatever. I don't know anymore.

_"What did you say this game was again?" Damon asked, shrugging off his top as we changed out of uniform._

_"Football," I replied, throwing off mine and grabbing another one quickly. "I dunno the exact rules, but we'll figure it out, I'm sure."_

_"Didn't think I hit you that hard during training," he said cockily, pointing to my chest when I gave him a confused look._

_"Oh," I said, realising what he's looking at. "Nah, you didn't. It's a birthmark."_

_Damon makes a face as we grab anything else we'll need to go have a game. "Weird looking birthmark."_

_"At least I can hide it, you can't hide that ugly mug of a face of yours!" I laughed, fending myself off as he goes to hit me playfully._

_He manages to get me in a headlock, ruffling my hair up in the process. "You can't talk to me like that anymore, show some respect to your lieutenant!"_

_I continued to laugh, pushing him back, "It hasn't even been a day yet and the power has gone to your head, what has the army come to!"_

Turns out I was right, I woke up and immediately was getting scolded for not replying to any messages, and for coming home waaay later than I promised. Thankfully, my parents believe I've reached that age where it's no longer appropriate to ground me so whew, but if I were a few years younger then I may have had a very unfortunate two weeks.

But these dreams I keep having... I'm wondering if I should ever talk to Damon about it. I mean, we did talk about it that one time but it got really awkward after, and we haven't brought it up since because why would we, and I don't even know if there's much point.

On the way to school, I stop by the Salvatore boarding house to check up on the brothers and Vicki. Hopefully, she's doing better now that she has these two to help.

Thankfully it's Stefan that answers the door, letting me in. All the curtains are closed, and I can smell coffee brewing from the kitchen.

"She's upstairs," Stefan says, "I don't know if you should see her."

"Why not?" I ask.

Stefan nervously replies, "She um...hasn't fed today."

"Ah," I reply, nodding my head and pretending I understand more than I do. It usually works in my favour, gotta fake it till you make it and all that. "Well, the hospital will be sure to have some blood bags. Is that why they always encourage people to donate blood? To help feed the vampire population?"

"What?" Stefan says, "No, that's ridiculous."

"Oh, okay then."

"Skye," he sighs, "Look, I'm gonna try and get her on animal blood so she doesn't need to go after people to survive. She's already an addict, I don't want her to struggle with killing people."

"That's a fair point," I admit, thinking over her issues. Wait, will Vicki no longer be

"It's never going to work," we hear Damon say. Looking up, we see him standing at the top of the stairs, lazily leaning over the bannister. "Good morning."

"Morning," I greet stoically, remembering exactly why I don't bring up these bizarre dreams where he happens to guest star in them.

"Damon," Stefan says, and he never looks happy to see him. "Please, just stay out of this. If I need you, I'll call you."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he very maturely replies, heading down the stairs. "Coffee anyone?"

"I just wanted to drop by before school and see how everything was," I said, shrugging my bag back on my shoulder. I turn to Stefan, "I take it you're not coming in today?" He shakes his head. "Figured. Oh well, let me know if I can help. Oh, also remember and let Matt know she's okay, there's a search party organised for her today."

"Will do," Stefan says.

I leave the boarding house and walk the rest of the way to school, enjoying the peace and quiet before the day begins. I wish there were more days like this, but something tells me these moments are going to be quite rare. I make it to school with plenty of time to spare, meeting up with Caroline and Bonnie at the lockers.

Caroline has a bag each for Bonnie and I, excitedly thrusting them into our hands. We open up the bags to discover what our costumes are.

"Witches?" I say, looking between the hat in my hand, to Bonnie, and back to Caroline. "Really?"

"Oh, come on you guys," Caroline groans, leaning back against the locker. "Why is nobody excited for Halloween? I just want a fun night with my friends. No drama, no boys, no girls, no nothing. Just some good ole fun!"

"That sounds like a plan," Bonnie says smiling.

"Agreed," I said, putting the hat on.

Caroline brightens up at that and checks her watch, "Have you's heard from Elena? I don't know if she had a costume or not ready."

"Haven't seen her," I said, wondering if she was maybe skipping school as well to help out with Vicki. I wonder if I should have done the same, but I'm already in my mom's bad books right now, no need to make it worse by ditching class.

"I was with Grams all weekend," Bonnie says.

"Aw, how is she?" I ask, genuinely curious. If vampires are true, and Bonnie's grams says she's a witch, who's to say their whole family aren't magical? Now that's pretty cool. Sheila Bennet was always known as a bit of a kooky old lady around town, but something tells me that's just a front so nobody actually suspects she's a real witch. She was always nice to us anytime we see her with Bonnie, and it's been a while.

"She's good," Bonnie replies.

"Still going on about you being a witch?" Caroline asks, linking our arms and walking us to class.

I catch Bonnie rolling her eyes and something tells me that's a solid maybe on her part.

School is school, and it's over quickly enough. I don't get a chance to speak to Chad, spending most of my lunch with my study group, trying to get my part of a group project finished. I try my best to keep my cool around the super cool girl in the year above who rides a motorcycle because despite not being in a committed relationship with Lana I don't want to make things worse with her.

Yeah, I didn't get to see her either, and I feel like she's ignoring me. Oh well, I've got a few more things to worry about that don't revolve around regular high school drama.

Once again, I'm back at the Salvatore boarding house, knocking on the door. This time, Damon answers.

"Miss me so soon?"

"You wish," I scoff, crossing my arms over my chest. "Can I come in?"

"How about you come with me instead," he says, closing the door behind him and starting to lead me away from the door. "Much more fun."

Digging my heels into the ground, this all seems quite familiar, however, I do manage to untangle myself. "Woah, woah, woah! Why?"

"I'll tell you on the way," Damon says, unlocking his car and man, that is a sweet ride. "Come on, I'll even buy you a drink."

I can't help but laugh because there's no way that's going to work this time.

But now I'm concerned I may be turning into an alcoholic at age seventeen, because here I sit in the Grill, at the bar, in my witch costume that I got changed into in the bathroom, sitting beside Damon, holding a gin and tonic.

"It's an acquired taste," he said before handing it to me.

After a few sips, I tell him, "I think I acquired it."

And staying true to his word, he does tell me what he's up to, discreetly showing me the old Gilbert watch that had kicked up quite a bit of fuss with Tyler's mom, according to Tyler, who had thought she'd lost it when he delivered all of the old Gilbert relics.

"This nifty little device can track you-know-whats."

"Voldemorts?"

"Don't."

"What? Less suspicious than what you were saying."

"Oh really?" Damon sasses, rolling his eyes as he takes a drink, potentially questioning why he dragged me along. "But anyway, this was found on Logon Fell after attacking Stefan. And considering I killed him, it's a little suspicious that no ones reported on it yet."

"He was the reporter, dumbass," I scolded, rubbing my forehead, already feeling a slight headache incoming. "Can you please stop killing everyone in this town?"

"I haven't killed you," he points out.

"Yet," I reply, rolling my eyes. "For like, a week. Can you hold off from killing anyone for a week?"

"Hmm," he says, pretending to think about it, swirling the contents of his drink around, "We'll see."

"I bet you couldn't..." I mumble, sipping on my drink once more.

"Say something?"

"Nothing," I reply sweetly. I check my phone to see what the time is. I'm supposed to be meeting up with Caroline and Bonne in just under an hour now, thank god. It isn't completely unpleasant spending time with Damon, it's actually quite easy to relax around him, but I have to keep reminding myself that despite everything I can't just let my guard down. "So, what's your plan then? What's the goal?"

"Fine out exactly who knows about us," he says, glancing behind us where - crap! That's Tyler's mom and dad!

"That's Tyler's mom and dad," I whisper to him, keeping my head down. Hopefully, the big hat will hide my identity for now. My mom might actually kill me if she finds out I've been drinking _again_.

"Who's easier to talk to?" he asks, keeping his eyes forward.

"You mean who will let slip secrets easier?"

"Exactly."

"Carole probably, if you manage to get on her good side," I tell him honestly. "Can take a while, but it'll be a huge difference if she has a couple of drinks in her."

"Doesn't sound like her and her husband get along," Damon comments, and I now realise that he's been listening in to their conversation this whole time. Superhearing sounds (haha) cool but it must get annoying when it's loud, surely.

"Mayor Lockwood is...difficult, to say the least," I explain. I've never really felt comfortable around him, with all the time I have spent at Tyler's. While Tyler's mom is the most welcoming when she wants to be, his dad is very. Hm. "Please, don't kill her."

Damon sighs, turning to look at me, "Fine, I won't kill her unless it's absolutely necessary."

I give him a bitter smile, "And that's all we can really ask, isn't it?"

"Yup," he replies, downing the rest of his drink, making me wonder...

"So wait," I say, and he groans, "No, no, this question is relevant, I swear."

He sighs, "Go on."

"Well, considering how much you drink, I'm guessing you need more alcohol than normal to get drunk. But would you ever be able to like, break your liver or something?"

"Break my liver?" Damon repeats, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," I say, "You know, alcohol poisoning. In fact, what if you tried to donate your kidney to something, I mean, some people can live with one. But if you donated it, would it be dead? Would you grow a new one? Oh, wow, we've just unlocked a whole new series of questions."

"Let me stop you right there," he says, raising a hand to get the barman's attention. "I don't know the answer to these questions, and quite frankly I don't want to find out."

"What if you had a bunch of people that all shared your kidney though."

"You're starting to disturb me," Damon deadpans, making me laugh. "These are exactly the kind of questions people who know of voldemorts ask."

I grinned at the fact he used the voldemort phrase. "I promise," I tell him, "Not to gut you and harvest your organs if you promise not to kill me."

"What a morbid and unnecessarily reassuring deal," he says bemused, extending his hand forward.

"Listen, you started it," I say, grabbing his hand and shaking it, taking note of how warm it was...wasn't he supposed to be dead and, I dunno, cold?

Damon rolls his eyes and we get our last drinks in, well, my last drink in. I'm going to be leaving soon to go meet up with Caroline and Bonnie at the school. Haven't heard much from Stefan or Elena all day, so hopefully, things are fine with them and Vicki.

I meet up with a couple of extras from my classes along the way to school, happy enough to have small talk and chitchat to make the journey feel slightly shorter as Damon goes and I guess tries to get to the bottom of this mystery he's found himself in.

Arriving at the school in record time, I bid farewell to my classmates and head over towards the different stalls outside of the school. It's amazing how all it took was a day and the school has been transformed, I have a feeling one Caroline Forbes had a few pointers for the committee that set this up.

I meet up with Bonnie and Caroline, no Elena yet but she was apparently going to make an appearance. The three of us look around the stalls, playing a few of the games, getting pictures together.

"We look so cute!" I say looking at the pictures, all of us in our matching witch costumes.

"Ladies!" we turn around and see Tyler sauntering up to us, "Can I offer you a cider? It's a Lockwood special."

"No way," Bonnie says, shaking her head, "Last time I had one of those, I was sick till Thanksgiving."

"I'll have one," Caroline says, surprising me slightly. "I want to get drunk enough until someone is hot enough to make out with."

Tyler hands her a drink and cheers with her, "I'll drink to that."

"What about me?" I ask.

"No way," Tyler laughs, holding the drink further away from me. "You've drunk already, and we are so not having a repeat of the falls night."

"What? I'm barely tipsy."

"Come on, let's go in and dance!" Caroline suddenly says, grabbing my arm and leading us inside.

The inside of the school is more done up than the outside, where did we even get the money for all of this? There must be a fog machine around here somewhere, but aside from that, there is an abundance of fake cobwebs, blood, and some other random decorations like gravestones and skulls. Honestly, it looks creepy as hell and if I were drunker I might actually be a little scared.

We head towards the main hall where people are dancing instead of just hanging about in the halls. Caroline grabs my hand and I grab Bonnie's, and we make our way to the centre and begin to dance. We swing to the beat, twirling each other around, singing to the lyric and laughing when we stumble slightly. It's fun stopping Caroline from making out with a mistake, stopping Bonnie from getting in a fight with a gaggle of girls not backing up, and keeping me standing on my feet as I try to do dance far more difficult than I'm capable of.

Eventually, we get thirsty and warm, and it's as I'm going out into the corridor to grab some air with some water that I spot Stefan and Elena running, and something in my gut just says 'oh no' and I follow after them quickly.

"What's the situation?" I ask as we run, catching up with Elena soon enough.

"Skye?" she says, "Have you seen Jeremey? Or Vicki?"

"She's here?" What the hell is she doing here? Isn't that not really ideal?

"Yeah, she's not supposed to be," she says, panting as we try and keep up with Stefan as he goes about checking each classroom as superspeed.

We start getting to parts of the school that haven't even been decorated, and as Stefan checks the last of the classrooms, Elena and I rush out through the emergency exit where all of the school buses are parked and hear the sound of someone in pain.

"Jeremy!" Elena yells, picking up a piece of wood and rushing around in between two of the buses and smacking Vicki with it. It does absolutely nothing.

Well, it does make Vicki angry enough to throw Elena halfway across the car park and into a pile of broken equipment and stuff that's too big to be put in the general trash. Ouch, that has got to hurt.

"Vicki," I say cautiously, grabbing her attention so she wouldn't go straight to Elena. "Hey, what's happening?"

"I just want to be left alone, Skye," she says erratically, holding onto her head. "Just...leave me alone, let me just have this, why doesn't anyone want me to be happy? Now that I have forever, all I want is to get out of this town with the only person that ever gave two shits about me!"

"He's fifteen," I gulp, not sure that she'll listen to reason, and where the hell is Stefan? "And you're eighteen, you guys can't just leave without a plan or - "

"Oh yeah?" Vicki says, appearing in front of me, gripping my shoulders as I try to leap back. "Watch us."

And thank god for Stefan who appears out of nowhere and knocks her off me.

"Wow! Go Stef!"

"Run!" he yells, and we look around, not seeing Vicki anywhere. He begins checking in, under, and around the buses

Elena rushes and grabs her brother who rightfully seems to be in a state of shock with a major bleeding lip. I grab the door to the emergency exit, throwing it open and go to push the siblings in when Elena gets snatched and screams.

I turn and see Vicki ripping a hole in her neck.

"Don't!" I yell, grabbing her hair and yanking her back.

Vicki manages to grab my wrist, pulling me back and I can't help but flinch as I stare into the face that looks nothing like Matt's troubled big sister, but of a true demon, a vampire.

And then there's suddenly a stake through her, and her face transforms back to that confused, scared girl who was terrified of the world she was growing up in.

"W-what?" she manages to get out, falling to the side and taking me with her, her skin quickly turning grey.

"Hey, it's okay," I say, forcing tears back as I hold onto her hand that continues to grip my wrist. I continue to tell her that it's okay as the greyness spreads all over her skin, hardening it until eventually it covers her completely and her eyes stare back at me lifelessly.

Oh...my god.

"Vicki..." I hear Jeremy crying behind me. He shuffles over, pushing her hair from her face and shaking all over.

I look over to Stefan, knowing for a fact that she's dead but just hoping that it isn't true, that this is temporary. But the sullen look on his face confirms it, she's gone. It isn't hard to notice that Stefan is struggling with all of this and Elena covers up her open wound, keeping her distance as she asks if he can take Jeremy home. Stefan agrees, but he first phones Damon to help.

And I don't know how long Elena and I wait, trying to pry Vicki's hand from my wrist when Damon eventually shows up.

But before I can even ask for him to help me out of this pinch, Elena's attacking him!

"This is your fault!" she tells him.

And, of course, Damon, tactful as ever, comes back and says, "You confuse me with someone with remorse."

"Elena!" I yell as she hits his chest repeatedly, and goes to slap him when all else fails.

"None of this matters to me," Damon says, directing it mainly towards Elena but not oblivious to my presence. "None of it." And then his demeanour changes and I catch a glimpse of the vampire behind the suave exterior. He comes back to his senses quickly enough but stares at Elena as he says seriously, no room for argument tone, "Your wounds are bleeding, you need to leave. Go get them checked, now."

Elena glances towards me and I nod my head. She hurries away. Good, she's hurt and needs to get out of here because I know for a fact I can't do anything right now to try and help if Damon suddenly turned and decided to attack.

Speaking of, Damon takes a couple of deep breaths until he eventually seems calm enough to look down at what he's here to deal with. He snorts seeing the predicament.

"Quite the situation you've found yourself in," he says.

"Just get me out of here, please," I say, wanting nothing more than to go home and cry. I've been doing that a lot lately, not good.

"How should I do this? Break her fingers one by one until eventually, you can wiggle out? Or should we keep the body intact and just break your wrist, I mean, we can fix you up right after, would be a shame to do such horrible things to the dead, gone so soon."

"Stop," I sigh, "Please, not right now."

Damon kneels beside me. I can see him staring into the side of my face out of the corner of my eye, but I'm in no mood for any of his mind games right now.

"Like I said to your friend, everything that has happened tonight, in fact, everything that has happened since I got to this town does not matter to me," he says seriously, "I don't care about how many people die around me to get what I want, and you better get that through that head of yours, and Elena's, if you know what' good for you."

"I know," I tell him, "Years have changed you from the man I've seen, but this one isn't on you. Vicki is my fault."

"...what?"

"I shouldn't have let her stay at the boarding house that day, I shouldn't have joined in on the antics, I shouldn't have left her and I sure as hell shouldn't have trusted you." I turn to look at him, forcing myself not to cry as I stare at his face. It's the same face I've been seeing at night, and yet they're so different.

"Well," he says, breaking away and grabbing Vicki's hand and a few cracking sounds later, my wrist is free.

I rub my wrist gently to try and get the blood circulating again, rising to my feet. As I go to turn away though, I see Damon still kneeling beside Vicki's body, a fragment of a sigh leaving him. I place a hand on his shoulder, feeling the leather beneath my hands. I only linger for a moment before leaving, not wanting to push my luck.

Going back to the party doesn't feel quite right now after what just happened. I wonder how Caroline and Bonnie are doing, how their night went...

Walking home probably isn't the smartest thing to do, I can already feel blisters forming and my phone buzzing with messages from Caroline, Tyler and whoever else is still at the party.

I make it home, grabbing a bottle of water from the kitchen and hugging my mom and dad before heading upstairs. I glance into my brother's room and see him duck my old GameBoy under the covers, waving when he sees it's only me.

And that night I collapse into bed, wondering where it all went wrong...

* * *

_Another night another dream, huh? Wonder where this one's gonna end up..._

_Still from the first-person point of view, and still wearing the old clothes though, although this time they seemed to be from a different time period. Couldn't say when but it was fashionable as hell. A pretty dress that seemed to keep swishing and swaying that came to about knee length, bright gold in colour. Oh yeah, I was back to being a woman._

_And suddenly I was in a bar, dancing with another woman with golden hair, and a swing in her step, and I vaguely recognise her from another dream... But no matter, no time to think as I see our dresses seemed to match, complement each other almost. I don't know how dream-me knew how to dance like they can but they did and I let them take the lead on this one. With my two left feet, this scene may go a bit differently._

_"Should we join the boys?" the woman asked me, looking over to where two men were sitting in a both, one looking an awful lot like Stefan - wait, that is Stefan! Although he seems different, he has a different vibe about him, cockier than I have ever seen him, more confident and laid back._

_The one next to him was another handsome man with a smirk across his face and if it weren't for the blonde hair I could have mistaken him for another guy I seem to dream about regularly._

_"Hm," I seemed to say, my voice sounding very different than I'm used to, having a very different accent from my own. "Let's leave them__ a little __while longer... I did miss dancing with you, love."_

_"Let's not make your man __jealous now." Well, that sounds boring._

_"Oh, but it's so fun." Now that sounds more like it, I like this dream-me._

_As I twirled the woman around, I saw her rolling her eyes slightly. "You're not as tall as you used to be, dear."_

_"No, it's a shame really, I do miss being able to reach the top shelves."_

_And then I feel arms wrap around my waist, pulling me against a chest causing warmth to spread through me. "Miss me, love?"_

_I turn to face the man that had once been sitting at the side, placing my hands in his to dance. "Always."_

* * *

**Wordcount: 8,716  
****Proofread?: Ye, a lil bit. After last chapter's mistakes I did go back and look over it this time lmao**

**Sorry again for that little mistake, but thank you to those that pointed it out so I could kind of fix it a little bit! MVPs. I did mean to get this chapter out sooner, but I've been procrastinating uni work that is now due whoops. But hey, Vicki's arc is done! Took a bit longer than I thought it would, not gonna lie.**

**And hey! Those reviews really came in handy, huh, so why not review again! It's always a treat reading them, even if I do a whoops**

_Answers to your messages see_ _below~_

**Only Reviewer - whoop, ye I don't mean to be putting Skye through so much so soon but hey, high school is a tough time right?**

**tenshi noyo Ryu Taiga - hey! I'm sure you've probs read I did a whoops, thank you for reviewing and helping me realise! Hope I managed to fix it a little bit?**

**Guest + Guest again - Damon in the Olympics would be hilarious ngl. Thanks for also pointing out my whoops! And yeah, more dream stuff~ I don't have a full timeline of events mapped out yet, but rn I'm thinking it'll be a while before everything is revealed officially, I hope you stick around for shenanigans. Thanks again for such a long and detailed review!**


	12. Chapter 12 - Charity Event

**Honestly, the Vicki arc was harder to write than I anticipated but this chapter? Man, I love Lexi so much, rewatching this chapter made my bi little heart skip a beat when she appeared whew!**

**Also, if things don't line up perfectly whoops, time is a social construct, right?**

* * *

_"Come on, we're going to be late!" I yelled impatiently, waiting by the open door, fixing my hair in the mirror while waiting for my friends to hurry up, making sure the rocker makeup I had on was dramatic enough to cover up the birthmark around my eye. So inconvenient... "Guys! We've already missed the opening act, we aren't going to get a good view at all"_

_"We're coming, you worry too much," a pretty girl said coming around the corner of the apartment, her makeup immaculate and her hair perfect for the concert we were about to go to._

_"Yeah," Stefan said, putting on a jacket as he came around the corner, "Loosen up."_

_I rolled my eyes, locking the door behind me and hurrying after the two vampires. The scene swirls around me and the next thing I know we are at the front of the concert of none other than Bon Jovi! The lights, the music, the atmosphere! It all feels so real. We're singing and dancing, and I end up on Stefan's shoulders at some point despite being right at the front, ignoring security as they try and tell us to stop, the girl we are with talking to him and making him leave._

_"Is this a good enough view for you?" Stefan yells over the music._

_"Fantastic!" I cheer happily._

_The scene changes once more and we end up in some extremely fancy hotel suite that must expand the full length of the building, watching as Stefan drinks and drinks and drinks until no one else can keep up, laughing afterwards when he's won the competition and looking more carefree than I've ever seen him before._

_"Lisa, up," the girl from before says, grabbing my hand and making me get up, "Time to dance!"_

_"Are you sure about that?"_

_"Absolutely!" she replies, swaying and moving her hips side to side, spinning me around and motioning for Stefan to join in. "Happy birthday, Stef!"_

_"Happy birthday!" the whole suit cheers, toasting to a more bashful Stefan that I'm used to who smiles and nods his head, coming towards us to dance._

* * *

Waking up to approximately one billion and one messages from Caroline Forbes is never a good sign to a new day, but it is understandable. I've woken up late, and we have a lot to set up for the Charity Pride event tonight. What I didn't expect to hear from her was that while running some last-minute errands Damon Salvatore had approached her about some necklace that she given Bonnie for her costume.

I sighed and got up, already late to grab materials and so thankful I had Caroline in my corner, but knowing for a fact I would definitely have to deal with Damon before anything else.

After a quick shower, I do my hair and makeup all nice the now so I won't have to do it later for the event and dress up smart in a nice pair of jeans, a rocker style tank top and a leather jacket. It's a pretty casual event, but as host, I still need to look somewhat presentable and despite what Caroline might say she knows I am not wearing a dress to this.

I hurry through a late brunch, asking what time my dad what time the family will be there for the first half of the event which is open specifically to families, and he says he doesn't know so that was helpful. I'll message my mom later and see what's happening with them.

For now though, I manage to grab the bus and make it to the Salvatore boarding house, heading up and knocking because despite everything that's happened I don't feel comfortable just walking into their house unannounced.

"Come in!" I hear a voice from inside call, a female voice.

What on earth...

What sorry soul has Damon trapped that I must now save from their untimely demise?

I open the door, peering in before stepping in wondering who this new person is. Have they finally decided to start blending in with the community and use the job left for them? ...Nah.

And then the girl from my literal dreams walks around the corner and I can't help but let my jaw drop, my bag slipping from my shoulder.

"Hey," she said all friendly, "Are you here to see someone or...?"

I shake myself out of my state, shrugging my bag back onto my shoulder comfortably. "Um, yeah, sorry. Is Damon here? I've got a bone to pick with him."

"Ah," she says understandingly, nodding her head, "He's in here. I'm Lexi, by the way."

"I'm Skye."

"Nice to meet you, Skye."

"Same to you..." Even though I feel like I know you already.

I follow her into the overly extravagant living room, seeing Stefan and Damon lounging about.

"Skye, what can I do for you?" Damon asked, standing up.

I put my hand up to indicate for him to stop him coming closer, "I thought I told you to leave Caroline alone, I thought we agreed on that."

"Did we?" he says and I roll my eyes.

"Damon, come on, leaver her alone," Stefan says, somehow looking a bit more relaxed than he ever did before when having to deal with his brother. Is it Lexi's influence?

Damon sighs, looking around the room. "You know, I feel ganged up on, and I don't like it. Plus, what's with the outfit?"

"Don't change the subject," I say, putting my hands on my hips, "Stay away from Caroline, and the Grill tonight." I turn to Stefan and Lexi though to say, "You guys are invited though."

"What's happening tonight?" Stefan asks.

"And why aren't I invited?" Damon asks offended.

I open up my back and rifle through it until I manage to find a slightly crumpled up flyer for the event tonight, passing it to Stefan. "It's this charity event I host every month or so, with the help of Caroline of course. We raise funds for LGBTQ+ charities that help different communities. It's a fun night, mainly an excuse to feel good about partying, and as for why you've not invited Damon, it's because there will be other people there."

"Rude..." he grumbles.

"Let's go," Lexi says to Stefan, "Come on, it'll be fun...Not every day it's your birthday..."

"It's your birthday?" I gasp. "Wait, how old does that make you now? A hundred and something? Two hundred?"

"Ah," Lexi smiles, "She knows."

"She does," Stefan confirms.

"He's looking good for 162 years old, huh?" Lexi says, patting his shoulder and I gape.

"Dang, I knew you were old but you're a real cradle snatcher, Stef."

Damon snorts from the sidelines, choking on some bourbon drink on the tray. Lexi raises an eyebrow at Stefan who is now quite embarrassed and I feel a little bad at my outburst

"...no offence, of course."

"Of course," Stefan says.

"You just got dragged hard, little brother."

"You're still not invited," I tell Damon who rolls his eyes, going back to his drinking. "It's like...two in the afternoon, what are you doing?"

"Mind your damn business."

"Rude..."

"Children, please," Lexi says, raising her arms and breathing dramatically, "Relax. Now, Stefan, are we going to your friend's party tonight, or what?"

Stefan smiles, acting like his arm was being twisted but not really minding, "Sure, sounds fun."

"Yay!" I cheer, happy to have more people come. "What time is it now? I should probably go and get some other supplies from town, but show up at any time tonight!"

"See you later, Skye," Stefan says, him and Lexi waving from where they were relaxing on the sofa.

I turn around to leave and come face to chest with Damon, it's been a while, hasn't it?

"What?" I ask.

"If you can get that necklace back from your friend Bonnie, I promise not to cause trouble tonight."

"That sounds fake," I say, hearing Lexi snort. "And you're not allowed in."

"Oh yeah?" he says, leaning over me, using his height advantage over me unfairly, "Who's gonna stop me? You?"

"Nope," Lexi says, suddenly appearing and grabbing him by the neck, having no trouble with a little height advantage. "Me." And then she flings him through the doorway and into the next room!

I stare at where Damon flew to, letting out a laugh and high fiving Lexi. "So, basically right, I love you."

After a few grumbles from Damon, and saying goodbye to Stefan and Lexi, I leave to head into town to pick up some last-minute decorations and raffle prizes, and also a present for Stefan. I wasn't sure what to get him to be honest, what can you get a guy who can probably compel anyone to give him anything he wanted? But for some reason when I was in the music shop, I automatically picked up one of the Bon Jovi records and paid for it without thinking twice.

Something tells me he'll like it. Hopefully.

I get to the Grill and see Caroline there already, setting up different games for kids and a DJ looking through tracks for a mini-kid disco. We're never sure how popular this event will be, especially after holidays like Halloween, but it's always good to prepare for a big crowd. Plus, we can always use left-over material for another event.

It takes a couple of hours to really set up all the decorations, moving chairs and tables so we have a decent dance floor, all the while working around the regular customers of the Grill coming in for a meal or drink.

We set up small donations boxes around the place and the raffle prizes up next to the bar. At each table is a pamphlet on the charity we are raising money for, details about the charity and how people can help further etc. Banners are hung, and we even managed to put up a disco ball! The place looks great.

I even find the time and material to wrap up Stefan's present.

I've always believed birthdays are something special, no matter how old you get. It's a day to celebrate that hey, you're alive! Woo! It probably feels less special the older you get, especially at 162 years old, but it's no reason to not celebrate!

Before I know it, there are families coming in, and people that want to be here for the chiller half of the event, gathering at tables and ordering food, letting their kids play and draw and dance once the music comes on. I see my family come in, my little brother pushing me out of the way to go meet up with his friends which is...this is fine, I'm not hurt...

"Do you need a hand with anything?" my mom asks me.

"No, we've got everything handled, thanks though," I say to her grateful, "Go grab a table and have fun."

"Place looks good, kiddo," my dad says, patting me on the shoulder as he walks by, making me smile.

Once more or less half the folk are done eating, I get on stage and start my spiel about the charity we are sponsoring, Pheonix Youth, and if anyone can would they please donate. I also mention the raffle prizes that have been donated to us through different businesses in our Mystic Falls community. And to finish it off, I thank the owner of the Mystic Grill for allowing us to host.

"Thank you again for turning up, our event will now be continuing on for the rest of this evening! Stay as long as you wish!" and whew, that's all the public speaking I had in me gone for the day.

Caroline bounces up to me, grabbing my hands and squealing, "Good job! You only stuttered like twice this time!"

"Thanks, Care," I smile, my heart still beating a million miles an hour. "Let's get some dinner, I'm starving."

We sit at the booth my parents managed to snag, sitting and eating with them, them giving us feedback about what they thought of tonight's event and what others they've overhead have said. Apparently having an earlier half where kids can have fun without us 'rowdy teenagers' running about the place was a good idea, no matter what some closed-minded families may think.

As time goes on, more people from high school turn up, putting money into the box we left by the door before looking at what they could potentially win at the raffle. There was some alcohol there to be fair, always a good incentive to join in.

"Well, girls," my mom says, checking her watch, "It's getting late, so I think we're going to head off. If you need a pickup, phone your father."

My dad looks at me a smile. "You don't need a pickup though, right?"

"I'll make sure she gets home safe," Caroline promises and I grin, happy to have a friend that can drive.

"You really need to get your license soon," my mom says to me pointedly.

"I'll take the test soon, I promise. Drive safe," I say, waving at my parents as they go and grab Kieron, getting him to say goodbye to his friends who look to be leaving now too.

"So," Caroline says, turning to me, "Is Lana coming?"

Ugh oh. I shrug, reaching for another fry to distract myself, "I dunno, I haven't spoken to her in a few days."

"Why?"

"Well," I start, and explain to her how I hadn't had my phone on me and came back to lots of text and didn't really respond to any of them, and nothing has happened since.

Caroline gives me a deadpan look. "You're such a boy, you know that?"

"What?!"

"It's a two-way street, Skye," she lectures, "If you want to at least try and get this to work, then you've got to make an effort. Maybe you should be the one to text first?"

I sighed, "Fine, I see where you're coming from. I'll text her and see if she's coming, but I doubt she'll respond."

And so I do that before I can change my mind, sending just a quick text, not expecting anything back.

"Is Bonnie and Elena coming?" I ask as I do this.

Caroline shrugs, "I heard from Bonnie, but I'm not sure about Elena. Did her and Stefan have a fight or something?"

"Or something," I reply setting my phone down. "It's complicated, and I don't know what's holding them back. They both like each other! What's the issue, uh!"

"What about Matt and Tyler?" Caroline asks.

"Um, I think they're having a boys night or something, they might show up for a bit later," I said, remembering Tyler saying he was gonna try and cheer Matt up. "Matt's still upset about the whole...Vicki situation."

"Yeah," she says, "How inconsiderate, she just up and left Matt without so much as a note? She's supposed to be the one looking after him, like, hello? Come on, get a grip."

It stings to hear her say this, saying the things that everyone in this town who knew Vicki must be thinking, that she's just on some drug-crazed adventure and that she'll turn up soon, as she always does. Except for this time, she won't.

I try not to dwell on it, just wanting to enjoy one day, one night without supernatural drama.

Another hour or so goes by and I see Lexi and Stefan come in, heading straight for the pool tables and kicking a couple of guys off them. Stefan looks more amused than apologetic which is a change, Lexi definitely brings out a different person in him. I wonder how long they've known each other for... I mean, I've known the likes of Tyler and Caroline my whole life and can trust them with anything and everything, but if I knew someone for fifty or even one hundred years, it must be so different.

Caroline heads off to go chat to some of the cheerleading squad, and I grab Stefan's present and head over to where the pair are setting up for a game.

"Happy birthday, Stefan," I say to him, thrusting the present into his hands, wrapped mainly in the paper we used to cover some of the tables.

"Skye, you didn't need to get me anything," he said quite seriously.

"Come on, it's your birthday, accept it," I said, excited to see his reaction to it.

Lexi is too, apparently, "Well, go on. Open it!"

Stefan starts to slowly open each corner, making the pair of us groan at the tease until he eventually just rips off the cover. He flips the record over and watches as his smile falls and mouth drops as he sees the cover for the first time

And for a second, I wonder if I got it totally wrong.

"You do like Bon Jovi, right?" I ask, suddenly very nervous. Oh god, what if he actually hates them!

"Yeah," he says, "How did you know?" Both he and Lexi turn to stare at me, but not in a way where I feel like I'm danger as such, more in some sort of amazement.

I smiled and just shrug. "Not to quote the big man MLK himself but, I had a dream." And now this is a risk and a half. "Did you guys ever know a Lisa?"

And Lexi gasps and I know for a fact they did. And suddenly my head is in her hands and she's staring, wiping the makeup around my eyes. "Hey!" But she doesn't listen to my protests, continuing to search my bare arms, even going so far as to lift my shirt up slightly. "Oi!" I yank it back down before anyone noticed, holding onto my belt in case she starts trying anything else.

Buy me a drink first, and then let's see where this goes.

"Lexi!" Stefan scolds, and she stops. Whew.

"Do you have it?" she asks frantically.

"Have what?" I ask, fixing up my outfit, wondering how badly my makeup has suffered. Whatever I can always get Caroline to help, or Bonnie when she appears.

"The mark," Lexi says, making a circular motion with her finger. "The circle."

My birthmark? Oh god. I nod my head, moving my hair from the back of my neck and showing them. Despite everything that's happened, I don't Stefan ever really seen in. He interrupted Damon that day when Elena and I showed up to the boarding house, so he might have, but to be fair he was more invested in keeping Damon away from us at the time.

And then I feel myself being turned around and brought into a bone-crushing hug. I manage to let out a laugh, burying my head in Lexi's neck, feeling the comfort that she brought.

"Can you tell me what this means?" I ask, pulling away slightly, still holding onto her hands.

Lexi nods, "Yup, I promise, I'll explain everything. But for now, let's get some drinks in. What's your poison?"

"Tequila shots?" I suggest, and Stefan laughs.

"Haven't changed," Lexi says, moving towards the bar with a spring in her step.

"What does this mean?" I ask Stefan who shrugs.

"Honestly," he says, finally finishing putting together the game of pool. "No idea. We knew a girl called Lisa way back when who had that mark that you have except over her eye. Due to some...circumstances, Lexi knows more about that mark than I do, and what happened to her. I don't know why it's so significant, but I'm sure she'll be happy to say. Want to break?"

"Sure."

I line up the shot, praying that I don't miss the easiest shot in existence in a game of pool. Turns out, I'm just that talented that I can make the ball fly up, over, and out of the table entirely, making Stefan crack up.

"Well," I say over his laughter, "Two shots to you."

Thankfully Lexi comes back with our drinks, we have a quick toast to Stefan and then she takes over the game because no way was I winning anytime soon. It's all laughter and joy until Caroline saunters over to me, a woman on a mission.

Oh no, who has messed up. I hope it's not me.

"You won't believe who's here," she groans, hopping up on the high seat beside me where I had sat to watch the pool game.

"Do tell," I say to entertain her.

Pointing towards the bar, with a glare, I follow her gaze and glare when I see a mop of black hair, a smirking glancing over the shoulder of a leather jacket. Damon.

"Want me to go deal with him?" Lexi offers.

"Nah," I said with a sigh, getting on my feet. "You're here for Stefan's birthday, enjoy it. I'll deal with the problem child."

"Thanks, Skye," Stefan says, "Call if you need help."

As I'm walking away I hear Caroline say, "Wait, it's your birthday? Oh my god!"

And despite who I'm walking towards I can't help but smile, knowing how much Caroline loves celebrations and that Stefan will be treated well.

My smile, unfortunately, doesn't last as I walk around to Damon's side, hopping up into the spare seat beside him.

"So," he said, "I'm a problem child."

"And an eavesdropper apparently," I scolded, him paying no mind. "What are you doing here? I told you already, you aren't welcome so please leave."

Damon purses his lips, nodding his head. "See, I might but then I would have to take back my very generous donation."

"You can't take back anything you donated," I informed him matter-of-factly, "There's no proof you have donated anything so I could have you done for theft."

"Well," he said, pulling out a cheque from the inside of his jacket and sliding it across to me. "I guess this isn't something you're - "

"Holy shit!" I said looking at the cheque. "How..."

"I come from old money, Skye," Damon says. I stare at that confident smirk, knowing that he knows he's got me cornered. This money could help so many people, I couldn't turn it down. "Not just a pretty face, huh? More than just my looks, my brains, my eccentric personality. My amazing ability to - "

"Not shut the hell up?" I interrupted, raising an eyebrow. "Seriously Damon, is this real? I'm not going to get done for fraud if I try and cash this in?"

"What kind of man do you take me for?" I give him a deadpanned look and he sighs, nodding his head. "I promise that that is legit, and is all yours, well, this charity's as long as I can stay."

I look at him suspiciously, not bothering to hide my doubt. "What are you up to?"

"What? I can't enjoy a drink on my brother's birthday?"

"You don't like your brother."

"That's true, but a drink is always nice," he smiles, finishing said drink, waving the barman over for another. He waved back to show he'd seen him but continued to talk to two of the girls in the year above. Kinda creepy. "Tough to get some good service around here."

"Yeah," I said, still not sure what he's up to. "Alright, I'm gonna go talk to someone that isn't you, and keep a hold of this." I hold up the cheque and fold it, planning it giving it straight to Caroline.

"One more thing."

"Of course there is," I sigh.

Damon faces me properly, all joking gone. "That necklace Bonnie has, I need it."

"What's so special about the necklace?"

"None of your business."

I cross my arms over my chest, "It is my business if you've been annoying my friends over it." He scoffs, turning back to his drink. "Look, I can't help if you don't tell me what this is really about. Why can't you trust me with at least that?"

In frustration, Damon stands, gaining a huge height advantage over me and suddenly reminding me I shouldn't push my luck. I stood straighter to try and gain some back to no avail. He smirks down at me, pushing by me and walking elsewhere. I let out a breath of relief.

And then I feel arms wrap around my middle and gasped as I'm lifted from the ground slightly. "Skye!"

"Ty!" I cheer just as enthusiastically, already smelling the alcohol on him. "Oh my god, how much have you drank?"

"A lot," I hear Matt say, turning my head and seeing him standing at the side in amusement. "I'm the designated driver, he insisted we leave the house."

"We had to come support," Tyler said, putting me on the ground but not letting me go, leaning his head on top of mine. "You know how much effort goes in from Skye."

"And Caroline," I add.

"Yeah, yeah," he says, starting to sway us side to side to the beat of the music which is thankfully not too upbeat. "Come dance!" And then I'm getting dragged to the dance floor.

I tried to resist, I really did, but how about you try fighting off a footballing gym shark. "Don't just leave Matt!"

Matt waves as I'm hauled off, "I'm fine! Have fun!"

"Matt!"

My cries for help went unnoticed and we reached the dance floor and I thought, well, since I'm here I might as well dance. Dancing with your friends might be one of my favourite things that I get to do at all these events that the town seems to have. Sure, things can look glamorous, the food can be delicious, you can all look amazing, but dancing? Now that's where the real fun memories are made.

Tyler gasps dramatically and picks me up, spinning us around and to the side behind some of the booths. I'm honestly impressed with his balance considering the state he's in, but a bit concerned about what all this was about.

"What, what is it?" I ask, looking to where he points and my eyes widen. Caroline's mother was standing at the door with other deputies, holding one of the girls in our year, I'm not sure of her name, and making her look around the crowd. "What are they doing?"

And then she points towards and bar, we follow her gaze and...oh my god.

There was Damon and Lexi, completely oblivious.

What has he done?

I go to move, to try and get to the pair before any of the authorities could, but Tyler holds on tight.

"Ty, let go."

"No, we'll get in trouble."

"Ty!" I struggle, watching as it's probably too late. "Lexi! Move!"

The music is loud though, and next thing I know she collapses and I wait to see the same thing happen to Damon only for them to...leave him. They drag Lexi out through the door and I see Stefan going to follow them, only to get turned away at the door.

No...no!

"Skye, what is it?" Tyler asks, finally releasing me after what felt like forever.

"Find Matt, I'll be back soon, stay inside!" I tell him, running to go out the back exit, seeing people still being refused to leave out the front door. And then we heard gunshots. The music was loud, and if you weren't already feeling quite panicked, you might have even missed it, but there was no denying that those were gunshots.

I pushed by a couple making out in the corner, clearly more interested in each other's mouths than their surroundings, and left through the back of the building, running around towards the front where I could see the flashing lights of the police cars, Damon standing among them.

How is he okay and Lexi is...where is Lexi?

"Damon!" I say, grabbing his attention. He turns around and quickly wraps things up with Caroline's mom.

"Skye, you should be inside," he said, acting differently from how he usually does. He probably put up some sort of act in front of Liz.

"Where's Lexi?" I asked, holding my hands to my chest to try and stop it beating. "Did she get away?"

For a split second, I see regret flash through his eyes but no...surely not, not another one.

"Skye..."

"What happened?" I asked, hoping and almost praying that she's okay, the shots missed, that she has run back to the boarding house, she's fine.

"She's dead," he says plainly, any trace of remorse covered up or gone.

I can't help but let out one short, sharp laugh. "Another one?"

And I turn away from him with a heavy heart, not knowing and not really caring if he had a part to play in all of this. Lexi was dead, Stefan's friend who came here for his birthday had died. And as selfish as it is to think, she also had answers, she knew what was up with my birthmarks and dreams and now she's gone.

"It was for the best, Skye," Damon said quietly, "Trust me."

"Trust you?" I say incredulously, whirling round to face him head-on. "How dare you try and talk to me about trust, you set this up, didn't you?"

"Hm, now wait for just one second - "

"No, no, I'm done," I said, unable to stop myself from laughing in disbelief. "I don't know what I thought, that maybe you were better than this, but you're not! I don't know what happened to you in between the army and now, but I guess a hundred-odd years or so changes people, huh?"

And I go to walk back inside, find Tyler, Matt and Caroline and get the hell out of here. This night that was supposed to be about accepting people, helping those less fortunate, gone. Completely.

"Oh, and by the way," I yelled back at Damon, catching a few eyes and being careful about what I was going to say next. "The answers we were looking for? We've lost them now!"

The look on Damon's face almost suggests that he regrets what he's done, and good, he should regret it.

It's official now, I'm done with him. For some reason, I thought he was a good guy underneath it all, everything I'd seen in my dreams suggested he was, and if that was him before he was a vampire then I have to wonder what has happened over the years to make him care so little.

Lexi despite being just as old, if not older, than the brothers somehow seemed to always still care, still be happy without causing harm. What's so different about them? Why couldn't he just...

I rub my eyes to stop them from crying, taking a deep breath before heading back into where the party was slowly dying down. Music was that little bit quieter, a little bit slower, the food was gone, one of the guys behind the bar was getting taken away in cuffs, and I have to wonder why he gets to live and Lexi didn't. She didn't do anything wrong in town except just, exist.

"Skye." I turn around to see who is calling me and turn back around. I so can't be dealing with this right now. "Skye, please, I got to talk to you."

"Chad, please, not tonight," I tell him, pushing by people to get away. Of all people, of all types of drama, school crush drama is the least of my worries tonight.

"Please, it's urgent," he says, managing to grab my arm and stop me. "Two minutes, and I'll be gone, I swear."

"Nooooo!"

The two of us, and a couple of bystanders, look to the side and see Tyler saunter over, karate chop in between us and give Chad a glare. "Let's go, Skye! Matt's at the car with Caroline already."

"Caroline is giving me a lift though," I say as he starts wobbling towards the door. Yikes. I grab his arm to steady him, trying to keep him acting natural in front of a gaggle of bloody cops.

Tyler snorts, "No she isn't. She is hammered."

"Oh, for god's sake..."

"Yeah, her mom saw too."

"Oh, that's rough..."

"Yeah, look! There's Matt! Matt's so nice, isn't he?"

"Yeah, he is," I agree, helping Tyler into the backseat of the car. It's only when I get into the front seat that he notices he's in the back.

"I wanted to ride shotgun!" he whined.

Matt turns the radio on before moving out of the crazy, busy car park. "Should have called it, buddy. Who am I dropping off first?"

"You can drop Tyler off at mine if you want, and you can make sure Caroline is okay?" I suggested, looking behind me to see Tyler poking Caroline's cheek while she's half-asleep.

"Sounds good," Matt says, smiling while checking the rearview mirror and seeing what was going on.

I send a quick text to my mom to let her know Tyler was staying over tonight, giving her a quick rundown of the non-vampire version of tonight's events. Before long, we're outside of my house. I say goodbye to Caroline who gives me a drunken wave, thanking Matt for the ride and for helping me get a now sleepy Tyler to the door, wishing him goodnight.

To be honest, I wonder what set Care off to drink like that. I can pretty much guess that that's the reason that barman is spending the night in a holding cell, but what caused her to get so drunk?

Honestly? At this point, my automatic reaction is just to blame Damon.

A family member died? Damon.

Your house caught fire? Damon, probably.

Someone drank all your alcohol? Definitely Damon.

Your pet dog has gone missing? Now see, I would say Damon because he is the most devious, but I'm not exactly sure what Stefan's so-called 'animal diet' entails...

"Come on, Ty, in we get," I say quietly, leaning him against the wall so I can close the door. He groans and grumbles that his nose is getting squished and I roll my eyes.

Okay, I could maybe understand Caroline getting drunk, she's a sensitive soul, something could have set her off. Matt, I could understand as well, he's under a lot of stress as of lately. But Tyler? Well, actually. Nevermind, he always has liked the jock stereotype and may be stuck to it a bit too much.

"Let's get you to the sofa," I whisper, helping him along to the living room, dropping him with a sigh once we reached it. God, he was heavy.

I head to the kitchen to get a bottle of water, leaving it beside Tyler before going upstairs. I take off my makeup and change, grabbing a spare blanket and taking it downstairs. In my absence, Tyler had managed to get his shoes off and had drank half a bottle of water and was all bleary-eyed.

"Skye?" he whispered, quite dramatically.

"Yeah?" I whispered back just as dramatically, covering him with the blanket.

"Where are we?"

"My house."

"Oh yeah...why aren't we in bed?"

I smiled down at him, "We aren't ten anymore, my mom would freak, and then so would yours."

"Oh yeah...but why am I on the sofa?"

"Because it's my bed."

"I'm the guest, though."

"Oh my god, goodnight."

"Goodnight."

* * *

**Wordcount: 6,125  
****Proofread?: Maaybe**

**RIP Lexi, she was only just in it for one chapter :( I wasn't sure whether to let her live, but then I figured things could get reaaal complicated and that sounds like too many plotholes for me to handle lmao.**

**So, usually I wait to get at least one extra review in bc it helps motivate me to but honestly, this wrote itself. I want to apologise for the last couple chapters, the amount of effort I put into them was minimal and it kind of shows but with everything happening in the world recently, it's a little hard to care. Not really a good excuse, but I'll try and do better from now on ^.^**

**Soooo, please leave a cheeky wee review! They're always fun to read and, like I said, really motivate me! I always like answering them too!**

** Tell me what you like, what you hate, I always take your opinions into consideration as despite this technically being my story, I like adding things I know other people will like, really helps to connect the dots.**


	13. Chapter 13 - Teenage Drama

**Hello, hello, yes it has been a while, welcome back, the first chapter with new teacher Alaric! But first, your daily dose of suspicious dream sequence!**

* * *

_It's been a couple of days since I've had a dream this vivid and not to do with the cookie monster, so I can only assume it's important._

_The building I'm walking in is beautiful, marble pillars, a gigantic garden going on for miles, the sun shining brightly in the sky. I'm not alone though, oh no. These paths I'm taking are being taken with my friend who looks a whole lot like Elena, exactly like her in fact, but for some reason, she just isn't in my mind. Maybe it's the old-styled, modest but elegant dress she's wearing, or the way she carries herself, but she isn't the Elena I know._

_But that thought no longer matters, as we are approached by two gentlemen, one with dark hair and a polite smile, the other blonde with a smirk - hold up! I've seen him in another dream I'm sure._

_"Where would you ladies wish to go today?" the dark-haired man asked._

_"Wherever is most enjoyable for you, my lord," not-Elena said quite flirtatiously beside me._

_And for some reason, I'm annoyed by this, but due to social standards I don't or cannot speak up. Instead, I simmer and glare at her as she goes off first with the dark-haired gentleman, leaving me and the other man behind quite quickly._

_He seems to notice my annoyance and extends his arm. "You seem frustrated, love."_

_"No, my lord," I replied politely, taking a hold of the hand he offers as we reach a set of stairs. "At least, I'm unsure why I am."_

_He smiles at me with hope, and I feel him gently brush his thumb over the mark on the inside of my wrist, gently pushing back the sleeve of my dress that covered it. "Everything shall become clear soon, I promise..."_

* * *

I let out a sigh as I feel myself waking up, peacefully. Thankfully there was no scary ending this time, just a nice relaxing day it seemed. Let's hope today will also be a nice relaxing day, life imitating art and all that.

Hearing quiet snoring is not how I expected the morning to start.

Feeling a violent kick in my back, pushing me out of the bed and onto the floor was not I thought this morning would develop either.

I sit up quickly and yank the covers from the bed, more hearing a body hit the other side of the bed rather than actually see it. I also hear the groan of my little brother and the top of his bedhead appear, a cranky look on his face.

"What was that for?" he grumbled.

I raised both eyebrows, that's right, both. That's when you know you're in trouble. "You're in my room, you kicked me out of my bed! What are doing here?"

And then the grumpy looking face of my younger brother that I'd gotten used to these past few months became quite embarrassed. Kieron looked off the side, saying quietly, "I had a nightmare..."

"Oh," I replied, very intelligently. Great response on my part, 10/10. I wasn't sure what else to say, it'd been probably over a year since he'd done this. He'd use to get nightmares quite often and would end up in my room. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Kieron shook his head, trying to flatten his hair which stuck up and out at the side. "I don't remember it..."

"Okay," I said, getting up and throwing the covers back on the bed, checking the time and realising it was time to get up anyway. "Go get breakfast or something, you've got school."

"I know!" he said, acting like his usual self, picking up his teddy bear from the floor and stomping out the door. And the slamming of the door behind him assured me that he was absolutely fine.

* * *

No matter what seems to happen in this town, good or bad, boring or supernatural, there's always school to deal with, unfortunately. And it seems that they've finally managed to find a permanent replacement for our history teacher.

"Good morning, everyone," he says, coming in right after a tired-looking Bonnie. I hope she's okay, she's looking pretty shaken up for first thing in the morning.

But aside from that, this is a huge improvement from Tanner. I share an impressed glance with Tyler, the two of us nodding in approval. If I'm reading his vibes right, I don't think we're going to have a repeat of Tanner Time.

I notice as he's writing on the board that Stefan isn't here yet, the way it's been for the past few days. With him and Elena on rocky terms, officially broken up but the two still care about each other, it's all been up in the air. No one really knows what's up with them, not even them, but I hope they work things out. They both deserve some happiness in their lives right now.

Elena seems to want to give things a chance, so it seems like Stefan is the problem child. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to speak with him after everything that happened with Lexi that night due to avoiding problem child number one. I'm not nearly as upset as Stefan is for sure, which explains his absence to be fair, but I'm pissed at Damon right now beyond belief.

Our first real chance to discover what these dreams mean, why I know things about the brother's past that I surely wouldn't be able to know unless they told me themselves, and he kills it - literally. And I doubt he's even properly apologised...

And then our handsome new teacher turns to the class after finishing what he was writing on the board. "Alaric Saltzman," he says with a dazzling smile, and I have a feeling he's going to turn some heads this school year. "I know, it's a bit of a mouthful, doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. Saltzman is of German origins..."

I catch Elena turning in her seat to stare at the empty chair in front of me. We make eye contact and I raise a concerned eyebrow. She shakes her head, turning back to the front and making me realise I'm not paying attention to the man's life story! The horror!

"Now, the name Alaric belongs to a very dead great-grandfather I will never be able to thank enough," he says sarcastically, making me smile slightly. Man's got humour, without killing everyone else's self-esteem? So far so good. "You'll probably want to pronounce is ala-ric, but it's a-lar-ic, okay? So you can call me Ric, I'm your new history teacher."

Wait, we're allowed to call him by his first name? I thought you could only do that in college! Tyler and I share another glance and subtly brofist. So far, so really good.

The class is pretty chill, mainly a get to know you sort of thing. He goes over what we're going to be learning with him and asks each of us some common knowledge questions. Well, I say common, half of us didn't know the answer to these questions but he never scolded or ridiculed anybody, just moved on to the next person. If he keeps this up, we may have a new favourite teacher. Sorry, Mr Kay, drama class is fun but threatening to break my legs after forgetting the homework has downgraded you slightly.

However, despite these good vibes I'm getting off Alaric, I can't help but notice the big gaudy ring on his finger when he's handing out papers, looking very similar to the big gaudy rings that our two resident vampires have. I don't mean to stare, and I hope he didn't catch me, but this may be something I bring up with Elena and whoever else is in the know later.

The bell rings and as Tyler is pushing me out the door, I suddenly fear I was caught when Alaric calls me back in.

"Skye Hampton, right? I'd like a minute to talk to you about your grades," he said, holding up a folder. I hesitate, not wanting to be late for my next class. "I won't keep you too long, five minutes at most."

"I'll let them know you'll be late," Tyler says before potentially leaving me to my doom.

Oh boy... Alaric, he has good vibes, good vibes only, none of this stranger danger vibes I get off Damon...

"Now, did you know your previous teacher had a jackass file?" Alaric said, holding up a few files, some chunkier than others. "The main one belongs to one Jeremy Gilbert, related to one of your classmates I assume?"

"Yup, you got that right," I replied, staring at the biggest file on the desk, "Why am I not surprised he had this?"

Alaric chuckled and held up what appeared to be my file, "Now this, this was interesting. Mind telling me what this 'Tanner Time' was about?"

I groaned, rolling my neck back. "It was what I called Tanner's classes, every class one of us would get roasted or insulted and I coined the phrase one day and it accidentally caught on."

"Impressive," he commented, opening the file and showing me every essay, every test, every piece of work I ever did for this class. "Did you know he's reducted marks off of your work because of this?"

"What?"

"He was very neat, he broke down where you lost marks throughout, and then at the end deducted sometimes 10% of your grade off your total due to this phrase."

I gaped, dumping my bag on the ground and looking through each paper to see it was true. What a dick...

"Your grades should be a lot higher," Alaric said, gathering up the papers from me. "I'll get this fixed for you, but I thought you should know in advance."

Tanner really was a dick, huh... I mean, he still didn't deserve...that. But still! What the hell, man?

"Thanks...Alaric," I said, testing out whether it was actually okay to use his first name, because if so then hell yeah am I abusing this power.

"Hey, you said it right first try," he said, "Now, get to class, quick."

I then noticed the few students waiting outside the door, quickly grabbed my bag and rushed to my next class, hoping Tyler would be there in time to tell the teacher why I was late. But I realise I can only have so much luck as I see him exit the male toilets with a yawn.

"Come on!" I say, grabbing his arm and hurrying us along the emptying hallway.

Breaktime comes soon enough, and I spend it with Caroline who squeals about what went down between her and Matt the other night, and her concerns about the "hey" response she's been getting off him.

It's cute that she cares - ha, get it? because she is Care? - but she's also gotta chillax girl.

I sighed, "I wish someone would cuddle with me through the night."

Caroline nudges me gently, "Are you thinking of a certain someone right now? Gal, or guy? A close friend, maybe?"

"No one in particular," I said clearly, taking a swig from my water, "Just sounds nice, you know?"

"Well, it was."

"No need to rub it in, Care..."

"I'm not!"

"Mmhmm, you owe me cuddles at the next gal's night we have."

"Sure thing, honey," she says sweetly. "But hey, do you know what is up with Bonnie and Elena recently? They've been so whispery and secretive, it's kind of bugging me."

"Yeah," I half-heartedly agree, wondering if Bonnie is in on things now and Elena hasn't said anything about it to me yet. I have suspicion to believe Bonnie might be a witch, nothing confirmed, no way to confirm it unless she outright says something...but Bonnie and Elena have always been closer so...oh, forget it. Future-me problem.

Future-me is really not going to like present-me now that I think about it.

The next couple of classes go by easily enough, bouncing between Caroline's concerns in romance and Tyler's general shenanigans which more often than not also get me into trouble. The best time of the school day soon enough comes along, lunchtime!

It's a nice day, so Tyler and I sit outside to enjoy the sun by the benches.

We're in the middle of a very important discussion surrounding our old Club Penguin accounts when a shadow looms over us. Seeing Tyler's face fall, it can be any number of people, to be honest, but I'm willing to bet on it being one person in particular.

"Skye." Oh look, it's Chad, I was right.

"Listen, man, stop bothering her just because she and your ex-girl got it on," Tyler said defensively making me sigh.

"It's important, please listen?" he pleads, glancing around him and making me worry. With everything that's happened lately, someone worried seems to also make me worry, no matter how juvenile it may seem.

"How important?" I ask.

Chad answers almost immediately. "Life or death."

Tyler snorts, crossing his arms over his chest. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," Chad glares, getting agitated, "Screw you, man."

"Go on then," Tyler says, getting to his feet.

Before a fight can properly break out, a voice that is all too familiar breaks through. "What is going on here?"

And there she is, in all her beautiful glory, not looking exactly too pleased though. How can she still look so good when so angry? Her hair tied back, some parts that managed to escape framing her face almost perfectly.

Lana turns to me sharply, almost making me physically recoil as the look she gives me is _harsh_. "Can I talk to you?"

I nod my head, getting up and following her to the side of the bleachers, still in the line of sight of the two boys who still look like they're quietly bickering. The silence between the two of us is deafening though, so I figure if she's not to going to kick this off then I might as well.

"Hey," I say, testing the waters.

"What? Hey? Is that it? Hey, and you can't even bother to text me back properly? I've sent you how many messages and I don't get a response to any of them? Screw you, Skye."

oh boy.

"Look, I've been busy, and I've hardly had a minute on my phone," I tried to explain, holding my hands up in defence, "And considering some of the things you sent me, I think I did you a favour by deleting the messages."

"Excuse me?"

oh, she didn't like that.

"_You_ did _me_ a favour?"

she did not like that at _all_.

I wasn't going to back down now though, I'm already this far in the grave. "Yeah," I said, copying her by crossing my arms over my chest, "A favour. I could tell you were drunk when you sent those messages, so I'll overlook what you said. But you can't just turn into a psycho bitch anytime I don't - "

"You think I'm a psycho bitch?"

oh, for god's sake!

"Lana!" we hear Chad call and he suddenly appears up beside us. "Look, I was trying to tell her - "

"Tell her what?" she asks, whirling to face him.

"Yeah, tell me what?" I ask, now very curious what's going on.

"That we're getting back together," Chad says quickly.

And for a moment there's nothing but silence.

I...don't know how to feel at this moment. Unwanted? Replaceable? I mean, I'm one to talk, I was the one that was cheated with originally, not on, well, now on. God this is confusing...

"What?" is the only thing I can think of saying.

Lana smacks Chad's arm, hard. "Why are you going around telling people that?" she hisses, and I swear for a moment she isn't human as I feel chills going down my spine.

"Because we are?" he says in confusion, rubbing where she hit. "That's what you said the night at the Grill. When we got back together?"

"Shut up," she hisses and enough is enough, it's time to end this.

"We're through," I tell her plainly. "I'm done."

"What?" she stutters, staring at me in shock.

"We don't work," I say, shrugging my shoulders. "Simple as that. We gave it a shot at least. Glad things worked out for you both, though."

I look between the enraged look on Lana's face and the concerned look on Chad's. I'm not sure who exactly he is concerned for, though. Me, or himself? Who is in more danger right now, is this really what he meant by life or death?

Turning away before anything else can be said, any other form of fighting can begin, I hurry back to where Tyler is there on standby, and we gathering our belongings quickly, intent on leaving the pair of them behind as fast as possible.

The rest of lunch is less dramatic, however, I'll admit, after finishing our food and talking things through with Tyler, that I cried a little on his shoulder, glad to have a friend to get me through this.

Although something tells me this isn't quite the end as the text I get from Chad not even half an hour later is pretty bizarre...

_"There's more that I need to tell you."_

"Who does he think he is?" Tyler scoffs, reading the message from beside me.

I rub my eyes of the dried-up tears, hoping it doesn't look too obvious that I've been crying for my next class. "I'm curious enough now to see what he wants to say," I admit, beginning to type out a response. "I'm having a girls night at Elena's tonight so all of this will have to be done straight after school."

"So, did something happen with Matt and Caroline?" asked Tyler out of nowhere, probably trying to change the conversation to something less sensitive, "Because he won't tell me anything but she's been giving him these puppy dog eyes all day, I swear."

I shrugged my shoulders, hitting send on the message agreeing to meet with Chad after school. "He took her home the other night, made sure she got to bed okay, all that jazz. You know how Matt is."

"Nicest boy alive, right?"

"Yup."

"Meanwhile you left me asleep on the sofa," he pouts making me snort.

"And what?" I ask, pushing his shoulder with mine, "Sorry we don't have a mansion with twenty spare bedrooms. You also weigh a lot and I'm not exactly the incredible hulk, there was no way I was getting you up those stairs."

"Not my fault you're a twink."

"...how do you know that word?"

* * *

The end of school comes around quickly enough, but the luck I had with my new history teacher seems to have stopped as Mystic Falls' very own problem child number one appears to be lurking around the grounds. But really, the leather jacket in this weather? Way to make yourself stand out, I'm sure no one will suspect that your body temperature is unnatural or anything.

I take the long, scenic route to the car park where I agreed to meet Tyler before Chad is due to show up. Hopefully, Damon will stay there and not notice my presence. But also, what the hell is he doing creeping around a high school at his age?

"You're avoiding me."

I sighed, turning to face the cockiest man I think I've ever met, and I spend most of my time with Tyler so that's saying something. "What do you want?" I ask, no-nonsense mode activated.

"Wow," Damon says, holding his hands up, "What's with the hostility?"

"I don't exactly want to be associated with the likes of you," I replied matter-of-factly, turning back around to walk away only to be met with him again. "Move." I try to step around him only for him to copy me, blocking my path.

"Now there's no need to be rude," he says, stepping in front of me again as I try to get around him once more. "It's been a while, I think it's time we get back on the grind."

I raise an eyebrow, doing my best to act unamused. "The grind?"

"Well, you can't seem to stop dreaming of me, of course," he says smugly, irritating me further, "And how you're able to see things from my past, I feel a little violated by that part."

I ignore that last comment and push my way past him. "Well, considering our best source for this information, who seemed to know exactly what was going on, is dead we're a bit stuck right now."

"Come on," he follows, wrapping an arm around my shoulder, "I'm sure we can push through."

"Did we mention that it's your fault?" I add, stopping in my tracks. "Your fault she's dead? A perfectly innocent bystander who just so happened to be able to help us is dead, and it's your fault. Did we mention that? I think we should mention that it's quite an important detail." I roughly shrug his arm off my shoulder and go to move away.

"Hey," Damon says, grabbing my arm. "So, maybe I made a mistake. That doesn't mean we just give up. There will be other ways to find out what this is about, I'm sure of it. If Lexi knew, someone else will too."

I sighed, refusing to look at him, instead, I look out over the car park to see whether Chad or Tyler had arrived yet, not that they could help in this situation but it'd be a good excuse. "Have you even apologised to Stefan yet? Properly?" As Damon goes to make some snide comment and I sigh perhaps overdramatically, but I had to cut him off somehow. "Look, maybe we can continue this some other time, I'm all booked up for today."

"Oh really?"

"Really."

"Well then," he sighs, finally letting go. "I guess you don't want to hear about my diabolical plan about why I really returned to Mystic Falls...shame, today I was gonna come clean about everything to you. Oh well..."

Now...that is tempting, I will admit. But I've made plans, with friends that I like, and I've already got one mystery that I'm about to solve today, no need for another one to crack itself open. There's no way he would tell me everything either.

"Why not tell Stefan?" I suggest, "I'm sure he's curious enough."

"Yeah," Damon agrees, half-heartedly. "But I like you a lot more than Stefan."

"I'm easier to annoy, aren't I?"

"Oh yeah, definitely. But you also annoy me a whole lot less than he does."

"Can't say the feelings mutual," I admit, smiling as I watch his smirk falter slightly. "Stefan is a delight to be around in my opinion. You, on the other hand, are problem child number one."

Damon sighs, looking a bit grumpy as he resigns, "Fine, but this isn't over." As he walks away he calls, "Enjoy whatever plans are clearly more important!"

"I will!" I call back, ignoring the looks some of my peers send me.

I make it to Tyler's car and check my phone to see why he isn't here yet. A text from him tells me his math teacher is holding him up, but he'll be out asap. Love that. Why can't that boy just do the homework on time? He's smart, he can do it just fine. And now I have to wait for Chad by myself.

Thankfully, I don't have to wait long because the man himself has appeared.

"Hey, Chad, alright what's this all about then?" I asked, getting straight to the point. I don't have time to be dealing with this, I'm so over this petty drama, especially because I've got more supernatural issues to be dealing with now.

"Not here," he says, shaking his head from side to side, and stiffly walking back towards the school.

I raise an eyebrow at his behaviour and just decide to follow Chad back towards the school. What was the point of meeting outside if we were going to discuss this back where we just came from?

As we're walking towards the back of the school towards the bleachers, we pass by some of the other football guys who hold their hands up for high fives from Chad but instead of doing that signature bro high five, hug thing that them football jocks do, he completely blanks them.

Looking back, that should have been a dead giveaway that something was wrong.

However, at the time I just thought that whatever he wanted to discuss must be super important if he was taking it this seriously already. I mean, I guess I wasn't completely wrong, it was super important, just not what I was thinking of.

Finally, we seem to reach a suitable spot as Chad stops in his tracks and I nearly run into his back. "Alright," I sigh, patting down my top, "What's this about?"

"R-r-r..." ...he sounds like a motor.

"What?" I say.

No response and his back still facing me I was getting frustrated. I walk around him to face him to see what his problem was, only to find him frozen, paralyzed almost.

"What the - " I breathe, taking a step back.

Chad struggles, but he finally manages to say the words. "R-run!"

"Now!" a man's voice calls, although I don't know where from.

As I'm looking for that voice, I fail to notice four individuals appearing seemingly out of nowhere. Everything happens far too fast. It's all a flurry of long black hair, sharp nails digging into my skin, the backs of my knees being kicked and hands placed either side of my head, and then a sharp pain and I'm knocked out

* * *

_I wake up in a field. How...how on earth did I get here? What was the last thing that happened? Bed? Did I go to bed? But I was supposed to go to Elena's today, why can't I remember anything that happened?_

_And a hand grasps mine suddenly making me gasp. I can't take my hand back, but looking at the man in front of me, suddenly I don't want to. Long brown hair, styled elegantly, soft brown eyes... god, I have good dreams sometimes._

_But in the blink of an eye, it's dark, and I'm alone, and the sound of howling wolves shakes me to my core._

_Running for your life is much different than just running for sport or leisure, with all the adrenaline in your system and the need to get away, you really do tend to fall more often, one half of your body desperate to be further than your legs can carry you._

_Everything stops suddenly as I feel airborne, only for a moment, and then landing roughly on my front._

I gasp as if I'd been underwater and had run out of air on the way back to the surface.

"Mom, she's awake!" a young man's voice calls above me, however, my vision blurs and I can't make out what he looks like.

"Put her back under, now! You know the spell!" a woman's voice yells back, and feeling hands on the side of my head one more I feel myself losing consciousness.

_Wack!_

_I flinch as the axe lands on the table right beside me, doing my best to keep my head down and not anger the man more. Somehow, I knew that looking at him would make him furious, make it seem like I was trying to defy him._

_"You're so fucking useless!"_

_Crash!_

_And then there's a polite knock at the door, a stark contrast from the noises made previously._

_"Well, go answer it, bitch!"_

_I felt the smack on the back of my head, sending me towards the door. It flies open as I make contact and land face-first into a man's chest. I look up and - hey! It's the same guy from the last...dream? He's had a haircut now, it looks good._

_"Dear, may we come in?" he asks politely as the knock on the door had been._

_"W-why?" I stuttered out, wary of the phrasing._

_"Who the fuck is this merry lot?" the man from inside yells. I take note of how many there actually are with this man. "You fucking the whole neighbourhood now you little slut?"_

_"Invite us in, please," the man in front of me asks, not quite glaring at the man inside but definitely losing his temper. "And you'll never have to deal with this pathetic creature ever again."_

_I stare up at him in wonder, wondering what power he must hold to make a statement like that so confidently. "I..."_

_"Oi! Come in here and say that to my face, why don't you?"_

_A dark smile appears on the man's face. "You heard him," he says, indicating the others to enter past us. __I go to turn back and see what happens but his hand grasp the side of my face. "Don't...it's not something you should have to see. You've had to endure enough violence..."_

_And then the screams begin, but they're a lot more feminine than I was expecting._

Oh wait, it's me that's screaming.

"Mom!" a familiar voice calls desperately above my screams. "W-What do I do?!"

"Calm down, she'll knock herself out soon," I manage to hear over my cries of pain. "We're almost done preparing..."

And finally, I feel my eyes rolling into the back of my head.

_...no, no, no, please stop, make it all stop, I've had enough I want to go home!_

_"You are home!"_

_I hadn't realised I'd spoken that out loud, or that I'd get a response._

_"Home was with him," I heard a woman yelling, her voice hoarse from either screaming or crying or both. "And you...you and your bloody family just think it's okay to waltz on in here - !"_

_"We are your family - "_

_"Family doesn't do what you have done to my home, to my life!" I seem to begin yelling, an image forming. It isn't the same man, however he is still quite familiar._

_The anger on his face is almost monstrous though, and as I recoil, I'm certain he's something supernatural. And I feel terrified standing in front of him now. "Don't test me..."_

_"Don't _you_ test me," I throw back at him despite my fear._

_And then I feel myself get pinned against the wall by the neck, held just above where my feet can touch the ground. I try to breathe, but it's difficult, and I start to struggle hopelessly._

Once again, I gasp for air, but this time there is no relief and I continue to choke, trying to move away from whatever could possibly be causing all this.

"She's awake," the calm voice of a man says, "Are we almost ready?"

"Almost," the woman's voice says, and fear laces through the panic I feel with my inability to breathe, wondering what on earth is happening, why this is happening. "Put her under one more time, she needs to be awake for the final part."

And once again, perhaps for the final time, I feel myself fall back into unconsciousness.

_"Hey...hey!"_

_I gasp, sitting up in the foyer of the Salvatore boarding house. I look around me quickly and see Damon sitting beside on the floor._

_"W-What happened?" I asked, looking around the area. Nothing seemed out of place, but it didn't quite feel right. "Is this real?"_

_"What do you think?" Damon replies, rolling his eyes before lifting me to my feet. "Wow! A bit unsteady there, huh?" There's a slight echo to his voice, and I feel tears forming as I realise this isn't real._

_"No," I cry, and grab a hold of Damon's hand. "No, no, no!"_

_"Hey, it's alright," he says softly, much gentler than I've seen him act before, pulling me into his chest. I still keep a hold of his hand, afraid of slipping away once more. "Everything is going to be okay, I promise."_

_"How can you promise something if you aren't even real?" I sob quietly._

_"Those are the words that you needed to hear, it seems."_

_"God, even fake-you is annoying."_

_"Come on," Damon says, pulling away, "Let's get you a drink."_

_His hand falls from mine before I can register what's happening, our surroundings appear to be sucked from around us, as if a vacuum has taken everything away. And then I feel myself falling._

* * *

"Katherine?" Stefan repeated in disbelief, wondering whether his brother was messing with him. "She's dead, Damon. She died."

"Ah, I had a trick or two, kept her alive, just had to wait for the right time," Damon shrugged, looking up to the night sky. "Turns out the waiting time was a good hundred years but hey, it'll be worth the wait."

Before Stefan could continue this conversation, his phone went off. If it were any other person he probably wouldn't have answered but it was Elena calling for the third time that night.

"Stefan! Skye is missing!"

Damon's head whirled around to face Stefan, any pretence of allowing the conversation to be private gone.

"Missing, what do you mean missing?"

"She didn't show up tonight, she wouldn't just bail on us without saying anything. We've called her house and her parents haven't seen her since this morning. I've covered for her, saying she's showed up and staying over but this isn't like her, Stefan..."

"Isn't she out with that football _dude_?" Damon asked quietly, tossing a football in between his hands.

Stefan sent Damon a confused look, wondering why he would know something like that. "What about Tyler? Has he heard from her?"

"Skye was supposed to be with Tyler but he said they never met up after school like they planned to. He said she was supposed to talk with Chad about the drama between her and Lana and I'm worried she might have had another run-in with Damon or - "

"Damon's been with me all day," Stefan said quickly, watching as his brother rolls his eyes dramatically at the accusation.

"I don't know what to do, Stefan," Elena says, "With everything going on I can't help but think something really bad has happened to her..."

"Hey listen," Stefan said calmly, "Damon and I, we'll have a quick search around the area in case we see or hear anything, I'm sure she's alright." Stefan opts to ignore Damon as he mouths the word 'we?' with a look.

"I hope so," Elena sighs. There's a scuffle in the background and Stefan hears Caroline yelling for Bonnie in the background. "Listen, I've got to go, something's up with Bonnie."

"I'll call you if we find anything," Stefan promises, shutting the call off.

"We?" Damon repeats, eyebrow raised.

"Come on, let's go for a run and see if we find anything," Stefan says.

Damon sighs, hopping off the park bench. "Fine, but she's probably all cosied up somewhere with either that jock or little lady, right as rain."

* * *

I wake up with an involuntary groan, the world around me spinning despite not even opening my eyes yet. At least I was able to breathe this time. I make an attempt to open my eyes, closing them immediately as images flash rapidly before me, of people I feel like I should know but am unable to place exactly where.

"Unnatural..." I seem to hear. "Unfair..." What is going on? "You'll doom us all..."

"Her damn phone has been going off, her friends are persistent..."

"I'm sorry, Skye..." That sounds...familiar...Lana?

Forcing my eyes open, I see candles, lots and lots of candles. We're also in the middle of the woods, so suddenly I'm a bit scared I'm going to be caught in some forest fire. Let's hope not. There's a large, domineering figure which circles me, continues to circle me, drawing in the ground with a stick as they go. In fact, there's two, now that I'm able to focus more.

"She's awakening, hold her down."

"Yes, mom."

Already laying on my front, I feel two pairs of hands grab an arm each and hold me on. My legs get kicked back behind me. I try to move, anything at all, and find myself stiff, only able to move my fingers and grip the dirt beneath me.

"Tonight we'll end this unnatural cycle," a woman's voice says above me. I flinch when I feel a cold hand touch the back of my neck. "And finally, nature shall be restored."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" a man's voice asks cautiously. "If they ever find out that it was our family that done this - "

"How will they find out?" the woman's voice snaps, her hand leaving me and allowing me to breathe easier somehow. I hadn't noticed how difficult it become.

"She won't come back."

"They've probably gone hundreds of years without finding her at some points."

"But there's always been traces, evidence that she existed, notes in birth records on the birthmark. They'll eventually realise something has happened, maybe they can even sense it. What if they know she's in danger?"

"Don't be ridiculous," she scoffs.

"We don't know much about this mark!"

"We know enough to put an end to it!" the woman yells, "Our ancestors have been tormented by the one who wears this mark, they always end up coming for the one with this cursed mark."

Cursed? I'm cursed? I'm so confused. What on earth is going on?

"I'm just saying - "

"Will you help me tonight or not?"

There's a brief pause, and I wonder what she needs help doing, obviously to do with me but unsure what. "Of course I'll help, but please consider the consequences. What our children or future grandchildren will need to face."

Another pause, slight hesitation. But any hope of getting out of this situation leaves as I feel the hand return to the mark on my neck. "We are strong, we will find a way to survive if they ever manage to discover what we've done."

And then the chanting begins. Four voices, chanting in unison, the flames from the candles illuminating the area and flying wildly in the air. It's then I feel a prickling sensation. I try and move away from the hand holding the back of my neck, but her grip on me is tight. The arms holding me down are unmoving, and I can't seem to feel my legs or get them to move properly.

"S-Stop..." I manage to get out weakly.

_"Astrid!"_

What...who was that?

A flash from the candles makes me close my eyes and I see a vision pass before my eyes of a young boy showing me what must be magic, leaves from the trees that were once on the floor floating all around us.

_"I love you, Astrid!"_

The confession sounded childish coming from the mouth of an eight-year-old, but the declaration was strong.

The prickly pain that originated from where the woman's hand had a hold of me had begun spreading through me, down my spine slowly but surely, beginning to spread through my limbs.

_"I'm sorry, Astrid. I love you."_

I tried to move once more, wondering who on earth kept making these confessions. The voice was definitely from the same person, but this time sounding like a young adult. I stopped moving as I felt a ghost of a hand holding mine. It wasn't anybody here presently, it couldn't be. Was it already a ghost? Was I already dead?

_"This way, we can come back...in another life."_ the voice says gently, gripping my hand.

As the prickly sensation begins overtaking my head, giving me the most splitting headache I think I've ever endured, I cry out in pain. I feel a finger trace a circle onto the palm of my hand, and I know now that can't be real as I'm currently gripping onto the dirt beneath me for dear life.

"It was supposed to be a redo..." I try to explain, unsure of what exactly I'm saying, only knowing that the tears running down my face are somehow causing me more pain.

"Let her go, children," the woman says, brining the chanting to a halt. The hands gripping my arms leave me and despite how much I want to get up and run I can't, it's as if the prickling sensation keeps me unable to move. "Lend me your power, for it will require all of it, from us and our ancestors, to be able to do this..."

And then the chanting begins again, and the once uncomfortable prickly sensation starts to burn, making me feel like I'm burning from the inside out.

And I can't hold back the scream that escapes, in my mind thrashing uncontrollably but somehow not moving at all.

"Quick!" the woman says, "Put up a silencing spell, now! We can't afford to be caught at this stage!"

And the burning sensation is no longer as severe, still incredibly painful but not quite as severe. Quickly, I decide that perhaps screaming my lungs out might be my last chance. Closing my eyes I scream, releasing all the pain and fear and frustration I feel, damning everything that has lead up to this moment.

"Silence!" I feel a smack to my head. "We're doing you a favour!"

somehow I doubt that.

Closing my eyes, my lungs begin to burn horribly, all I seem to see in my mind is a pair of brown eyes staring back at me.

"Skye!"

Opening my eyes, however, I'm met with sharp blue eyes, staring at me with worry.

"She's stopped screaming, call Elena."

"Damon?" I croak out, refusing to look away from him, afraid that perhaps my mind is playing games on me again.

"Yeah, you're okay, Skye, we're here," he says, helping me sit up beside him, "Stefan and I got to you in time, you're safe."

Still unsure, I take a hold of Damon's hand on my shoulder, glancing to the side where I see Stefan on the phone, looking over with concern. I look back at Damon, and instead of asking what happened, how they're both here, what happened, how long they've been here, what the hell happened...

I let myself fall forward, straight into Damon's chest, gripping the edges on the leather jacket with everything I had in me. If this isn't real, I'm going to at least hold onto this small shred of reality before I officially die.

"Yeah, we found her...she's not so good...Damon's going to talk to the sheriff tomorrow...wait, Bonnie did what?"

"I'm going to kill that little witch..." I hear Damon grumble.

"No..." I said, holding onto him tighter in case he tried to leave and do just that. "No killing...Bonnie's good..."

There's a brief pause before I hear Damon say quietly, "I wasn't talking about your friend."

I feel myself getting lifted up, arms holding me up bridal style. I'd be embarrassed if it wasn't for the fact that I felt like I could pass out at any moment. Still, I continue to hold onto the edge of Damon's jacket, taking some comfort in the fact I can feel the distinct texture in between my fingers. This is real...This feels real, so it must be real, right?

"Where are we heading to?" Damon asks, keeping a tight grip on me, helping to reassure me that this is real, this time it is reality.

"Elena is taking Bonnie to her Grams, we'll meet them at there so they can check to see if Skye is alright," Stefan replied after shutting the call off. "Let's go."

And Stefan disappears in a rush.

"Skye?" I look up slowly at Damon. "You know where we're going right?" I nod once. "We didn't bring the car, so I'm going to have to run there. Is that okay with you?"

"Yeah," I say, my voice croaky. I close my eyes and hold onto him tighter.

"Okay," I hear Damon say. "I'll move after 3, okay?"

It takes me a second to realise he's waiting for me to agree. I nod my head again.

"3...2...1, go!"

* * *

**Wordcount: 7,747  
Proofread?: ...sure**

**If there are mistakes, then I'm sorry! It's been a hot minute, and quarantine in the UK is Tough... It's like day 61 or something, but who's counting? Feel free to share any stories you have during this time! I ironed a carpet the other day so there's that.**

**Thank you to anyone who has left a comment during these times! It really helped motivate me to get through this.**

**Again, it's free to comment! Leave a nice little review! Takes 2 seconds on your part but keeps me happy and motivated for at least a week!**


	14. Chapter 14 - Careers Night

**AIGHT not to be petty BUUUT remember that lieutenant comment? I did put it in! Chapter 8! I found it! Sure we're like4 chapters too late but still. Icb y'all clowned me and I let you. Yeet. I would like to request a formal apology in the form of reviews pls and thank.**

**I am joking, kinda. But on a more serious note, I hope you're staying safe during these times, and if this can distract you for even 5 mins then I'm glad. Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

The journey to Bonnie's Gram's was quick, but the more time I spent in Damon's arms, the more I started to believe that this time it was real. I wasn't about to die. Well, that's good. Unless...maybe I've already died? Nah, no way would I imagine Damon would be the last person I wanted to see. You know, maybe my family, any celebrity crushes? Maybe I'm about to die, and then I'll finally get my interview with Ryan Gosling.

Damon and I arrived to find Sheila Bennet hugging Bonnie tightly just outside her house, with Elena and Stefan speaking quietly by her car.

"You, witchy," Damon says, catching Bonnie's attention. She looked visibly more scared of him now. She must know now about our vampire infestation, for sure. "You destroyed my necklace?"

"Emily did something," Bonnie said quickly.

"If it weren't for the fact this night has already been pretty awful, we would be having a very different conversation right now," Damon said darkly, clearly very unhappy.

Sheila stepped forward, pushing Bonnie behind her. "You would do well not to threaten us, Salvatore. Emily did what she felt was best, you can't fault her for that."

"Watch me," he grumbled childishly. "Tell her to call me if she ever comes back, I've got some things I'd like to say to her."

"Skye!"

Damon turns us around, and I see Elena rush over. She stops beside us, placing a hand on my forehead making me flinch. "Is she okay?"

"She's okay, I think," Damon replies, shifting his hold on me slightly. "In shock mostly."

"Let me see her," Sheila said by the door of her house. "Can you stand, dear?"

I don't know if I could, which is embarrassing. Would it be worse to try and fall flat on my face or to not try at all though? Either way, this is slightly humiliating.

I feel myself getting placed on my feet by Damon, but I don't let go of him just yet.

"Skye?" he asks, having to crouch slightly as I kept my hold on his jacket. I'm steady on my feet surprisingly.

"What's wrong?" Elena asks, gripping my arm. "We'll catch you if you fall, come on, it's okay."

Afraid to speak for fear of crying or worse, being unable to, I just shake my head.

The group share some confused glances, probably wondering why I won't let go. And despite knowing the answer myself, I'm scared to say it out loud. If I let go, will I go right back to that pain? I turn my face in Damon's chest to avoid looking at them. What the hell is wrong with me? Why am I acting like this? I'm stronger than this, come on!

However, feeling a hand on the back of my neck I scream. I let go of Damon and make a swing towards the hand that touched me, smacking whoever it was quite violently.

And it's at that moment I'm sure it's real.

"Elena..." I begin to say, only to start crying. Immediately she wraps her arms around me and instant relief hits me probably just as good as any drug ever would. I've survived whatever the hell tonight was.

And as I'm getting patched up, I spill everything. About Chad, about how weird he was acting, about how he tried to warn me, about the ambush, a family attacking me, and my suspicions it may have been Lana.

"A-and that might have been why Chad was trying to warn me," I finish, wrapping my arms around myself, "God! I'm so stupid, I should have known something was off..."

"There's no way you could have known," Bonnie says, holding my hand for comfort.

I sniffed, "Looks like we've both had a rough night, huh?" Bonnie giggles, giving me a teary smile. But wait, wasn't it supposed to be a gals night? What happened to the other gal in our group? "But what happened with Caroline?"

"She went home, I think," Elena shrugged, "After Emily...she got really freaked out."

"So, does she know about everything now?" I ask, glancing towards where Stefan and Damon were sitting at the side. Sheila was inside making tea, probably waiting for my overdramatic ass to calm down.

"I don't think she really believes it," Bonnie says disappointed.

Elena shrugs, "It's a lot to take in, even you're struggling with it."

"That's true," Bonnie sighs.

Sheila comes out a second later, handing each of us a steaming hot mug each. Leaving two mugs at the side for Stefan and Damon. She crosses her arms over her chest, clearly not happy with them being here still.

"You don't have to stick around, you know," she says, not holding any emotions back apparently. "I can handle things from here."

"No offence," Damon says, probably about to say something offensive, "But after finding a bunch of witches attacking Skye tonight, I'm not exactly keen with leaving her with another bunch of witches."

I can't help the twitching of my lips forming into perhaps the first proper smile since...that situation. Aw, he does care. Maybe...maybe I can be friends with him. If that's an option, of course.

Sheila rolls her eyes at Damon's retort, turning to Stefan. "What's your excuse?"

"Ugh..." Stefan says nervously, clearly not having paid attention, "Thank you for the coffee?"

Damon snorts and I shake my head in amusement, sharing a glance with Elena who stares over longingly towards him. I wonder what's going on between them, maybe that's why he's sticking around? To sort things out?

"Right," Sheila says, leaving the vampires at the side and coming to kneel in front of me, "Now that you've calmed down, let's check that mark of yours now."

I gulp nervously, but nod my head none the less and turn around so she can see the back of my neck. I trust Sheila Bennett. She's Bonnie's gram. She's babysat me before. She's a good woman. And despite knowing all this, my heart begins to rapidly race in my chest.

Two hands appear in front of me, and I grab onto them instantly, sending Elena and Bonnie a smile to thank them. Closing my eyes, I can feel a cool hand gently pressing against my mark, making me wince.

"Hey!" I hear Damon call from behind us.

"It's alright," Sheila says soothingly, and the brief pain from before quickly disappears and is replaced with a soothing coolness. "You should be fine, dear. Nothing permanent has been done to you."

I open my eyes and let out a sigh of relief, turning around to face everyone properly. Physically, I'm fine. That's good to hear.

"Do you know why this happened?" Elena asked her curiously. "Does it have something to do with Skye's birthmark?"

Sheila nodded her head, picking up a book left on the tray she used to bring out the drinks on. She flips through the book slowly, looking for something specific. "That mark has been seen for hundreds of years and is known as a bad omen to those who know of it."

My heart drops.

That doesn't sound good. That does not sound good at all.

"What does that mean?" Bonnie asks.

"Am I cursed?" I asked, wrapping my arms around myself. "That's what they said...that I'm cursed and unnatural..."

Sheila snorts in amusement and I feel myself calm down. "There's always a risk with anything from that far from the grapevine being misinterpreted somewhere along the way. I tend to take these things with a grain of salt. I've seen you grow up Skye, and you are nothing but a delightful, caring person who I'm glad is there to keep an eye on my granddaughter."

When an old lady compliments you like this, how else are you meant to react than sheepishly smile and say, "Thank you."

"That's nice and all," Damon says, ruining the lovely moment, "But that doesn't answer any of our questions."

While upset at his interruption, Sheila turns back to us and finally shows me a page of a very old book, pages sticking out from different sections, areas ripped and just generally a very, very, very old book. There in the middle of the two pages though is a perfect circle, around it marks description for what this bad omen supposedly warns of...

"Death? Destruction? Chaos?" I repeat, staring at the old witch in front of me. "This is...concerning, to say the least."

"This doesn't sound like Skye," Bonnie says, very sweet of her to say.

"No, it doesn't," Sheila agrees, sipping on her tea, also very sweet of her to say. "Which is why I don't believe it's a bad omen, however, there's a chance that those who attacked you tonight don't care about that, and decided to do something drastic."

"What?" Elena asked in confusion.

"It's rumoured that this mark leaves an individual after they die, and presents itself on another individual as they are born, which is why it has been seen throughout history for a good few hundred years at the least," Sheila continues, flipping to another page, showing illustrations of someone being killed quite...horrifyingly similar to what just happened...

The page quickly turns to the next, filled with scribbles which I can't seem to focus on at the moment.

"Tonight they tried to break that chain, they probably thought they were going to save the world or some bullshit," Sheila curses, making all of us in one shape or form sit up straighter, raise an eyebrow, some part of us come to attention.

"Grams," Bonnie scolds.

"I'm saying it how it is," she replies, rolling her eyes. "But really, now that you're aware of the supernatural world, you ought to be more careful. It's not your fault that this happened, no one knows of the origins of whatever this is, but let me tell you now to never for a second believe what they were doing was right. Your life is worth just as much as anybody else's, and whether or not your supposedly cursed shouldn't matter."

I grinned, unable to stop it spreading across my face. I turn my head to Bonnie, "Your grams is the coolest."

"Yeah, she is," Bonnie grins back.

Sheila smiles, standing up, "It's late, but you're welcome to stay a while and read through that grimoire if you like. I'm going to head in for the night, you'll lock up when you come in, right sweetie?"

"Sure thing, Grams," Bonnie replies.

"Good night, Sheila," we all say, in one way or another. "Thank you."

I pick up the book, leaning it on my legs as I try to make out what some words said, trying to find out if anything in here could help Damon and I understand what these dreams of mine mean, and how I'm able to know things from the past.

"I'll be right back," Elena says suddenly, getting to her feet and heading towards Stefan.

"Are you doing okay?" I ask Bonnie now that it's just the two of us.

She smiles, "I should be asking you that...but I think so. It's been a long night, and I can't wait to just...sleep."

My chest tightens at the thought of trying to sleep after tonight, and it's late and...oh no.

"My parents are gonna kill me," I groan.

"We covered for you! Don't worry, we said you were staying over at Elena's and that you'd just shown up late, it's fine," Bonnie reassures me. "It's probably going to be...tough relaxing after tonight but try and get some rest, okay?"

I nod my head. "I'll try."

Bonnie's eyes look over towards where Elena and Stefan are speaking. "How do you think it's going?"

"Not well," Damon says, sitting beside us with a sigh. "Shame really, I was rooting for them."

"Stop listening in, it's rude," I scold.

"I can't help it," he says, looking towards them and rolling his eyes at something that was said. "Real smooth, brother... But anyway, how're you holding up?"

I shrugged, "Okay...thanks again for, you know, not letting me die."

"You gave Stefan and me quite the scare," he said, trying to sound kind of like a worried parent and making me smile.

"What exactly happened?" Bonnie asked him, "You never exactly said."

Damon looked down at his outstretched legs, "We were just doing a quick check after hearing Skye was missing, and then we heard screaming. We get to this clearing and there is that bitch who punched you at the bonfire night and what looked like her whole family standing over a body. Didn't matter whether we were sure it was Skye or not, couldn't have left anyone like that...

"Stefan and I manage to break their concentration and after managing to attack one of them, they fled. Disappeared into thin air almost, but that didn't matter because you were still screaming, still in pain. You were bleeding so Stefan had to stay back but...I don't know what you were seeing, or going through, but I'm glad you're okay."

I sit for a moment and take in the fact that I had managed to worry Damon Salvatore of all people. Mister 'I do not care about anything' huh, sounds fake bud but okay.

However, as fun as it would be to tease him for this, I'll hold back for now. Instead, leaning sideways to be able to give him a hug. I feel him stiffen up so I'll keep it quick. "Thanks for helping me out tonight."

"Yeah, yeah, you're welcome," he replies half-heartedly, and I let him go. "They're just about done so you should be getting your ride soon. Can't believe I'll need to walk home as well, damnit Stefan..."

"Wait, what's going on?"

"Thought you said it was rude to listen in?"

"It'd be ruder to not share what you've heard, now spill."

"Elena wants to be together, Stefan's thinking it's all too much for him to handle, and I'm getting into trouble for listening in..."

The rest of the evening was quiet, we said goodnight to Stefan and Damon who ran back home, talked for a while longer on the porch before Elena and I said goodnight to Bonnie too. The drive back to Elena's house was quiet, the house itself quiet enough too when we walked in. It took a while to fall asleep that night I will admit, not because Elena's bed isn't comfortable or that she snores or anything like that, but because I realised something...

I've lost my damn phone.

* * *

_"Let him go, damn you! Let him go!" a woman screamed, her voice raw and cracking at the end._

_There was the sound of a fire burning high nearby, yet I couldn't see anything. But I could tell I was coming closer to it. I can almost imagine the heat from the flames. If it weren't for the man practically crying, I could image a nice campfire setting._

_"He hasn't done anything wrong, stop it! It's me you want, let him go!" the woman continued to scream._

_And then fear really hit me as I heard the chanting._

_I know this chanting, and I know the pain that comes with it._

_"Stop it!"_

* * *

I wake with a gasp and blink quickly, taking in my surroundings. Not my room...Elena's room, I'm at Elena's, I'm safe. I sit up and see just how bright it is, and Elena nowhere in sight. I lean over to check what time it is on her digital clock and gape at the time.

"Is sleeping beauty up yet?"

"Leave her alone, Damon, she needs rest after what happened yesterday."

"It's five o'clock, it's time for dinner!"

And then the door opens and I see a very peeved off Elena trying to pull Damon out the room and him not caring at all.

"Ugh," I say, still working on how to come back to the world of the living. "Sup."

"Good evening, have a nice rest?" Damon asked, somewhat sarcastically.

Elena sends me an apologetic look. "I tried to stop him, I swear."

He makes his way over to the bed and sits at the edge casually. "You've been knocked out for hours, I've come by twice already and was told you were resting."

"What for?" I asked incredulously. Surely he doesn't care that much to check up on me, or did last night change his dark, uncaring soul?

And then Damon holds out my salvation, my saving grace.

"My phone!"

"Yeah, forgot to give it to you after everything," he said throwing it to me, "But figured it may come in handy, you might want to check in with your mom by the way. She is _not_ happy."

Oh boy, that's a future-me problem. Very near future me, but still future me.

"Why couldn't you have just given it to me?" Elena asks, crossing her arms over her chest in exasperation, making me wonder what she's had to put up with. "I could have given it to Skye whenever she woke up."

Damon snorts, pointing a finger towards me, "And miss this bed hair? No chance."

I blank.

Processing...

Processed.

I quickly throw the covers off myself and rush into Elena's bathroom to witness the damage. And dear lord, I guess anti-gravity is the look for this evening, huh.

The rest of Damon's visit is filled with a couple of light-hearted insults, before Elena and I have had enough and manage to kick him out. I text my mom who is _not_ happy with me and I feel like I'm going to receive the silent treatment for the next few days. I text back Tyler, and even send a text to Chad asking if he's okay.

After getting ready for what little time I have left in the day, I have dinner with Elena and her Aunt Jenna, Jeremy opting to eat in his room, consisting of some chicken wraps and salad. Very nice, and very filling, and great company. Jenna is a super cool aunt, and it's really easy to talk to her. But when it comes to boy talk...

"I don't wanna talk about Stefan right now," Elena says stubbornly, even though both Jenna and I want to hear about it.

"Alright, fine," Jenna says, leaning back in her seat, and turning to me. Uh oh, something tells me I'm in the hot seat now. "Who was the guy that kept coming here to check up on you, Skye? Boyfriend?"

Oh god, she means Damon, doesn't she? Honestly, it feels kind of fresh that it isn't Tyler being accused of this position.

"No," both Elena and I say, making eye contact as we were perfectly in sync.

"He's Stefan's brother," Elena says the same time I say, "He's just a friend."

And the two of us make eye contact again, and this time I pause because when did I start to consider him my friend? Last night? Yeah, must be. I mean, I know I said I'd try the friendship thing, I think he deserves it after helping save my ass, but I didn't think I'd be dropping the F-bomb so soon.

"Mmhmm," Jenna says, raising a knowing eyebrow that doesn't actually know anything. "Fill me in when you start dating, yeah?"

"Jenna," Elena deadpans.

"What?" she says.

I shake my head, "We are not going to start dating, trust me."

Thankfully, the rest of the evening was very casual and less grilling. After helping clear up, I packed up my stuff and let Elena drive me home where we listened to whatever song made it to number one and jamming out to it. Getting in the house though, the parents weren't exactly too happy with me but accepted the hugs I practically demanded off of them.

I even managed to get a hug out of my very annoyed little brother which is an achievement in itself.

* * *

For the past few days, whether it be the weekend or before school, I've taken time out of my morning to go to the Salvatore boarding house, just to check in with the brothers. Who knew that a near-death experience could bring you closer together? I mean, _Harry Potter_ maybe, but this isn't a crossover.

After the second day, I'd been given permission to just enter without knocking and waiting for someone to answer the door as I think I may have interrupted someone's (Damon's) beauty sleep. Yeah, he wasn't too happy with me that morning...

I keep Stefan up to date with things from school, just in case he will come back. I also just keep him up to date on the general drama because while it's maybe not important, it's something fun to talk about,

Oh yeah, I also tell them about how Chad doesn't remember a thing.

"Nothing?" Stefan asked, shocked.

I shake my head. "Nothing."

"What did he say to you then?" Damon asked.

"Just that he was sorry for being a douchebag, and asking if we could be cool again," I replied shrugging. "We hugged it out, and I get high fives in the corridor now. Really feel like I'm part of the team."

"That's nice," Damon said, pretty sarcastically.

"But what about Lana?" Stefan asked. "Has she shown back up at school at all?"

Again, I shake my head. "Nobody has heard from her, or her family. But apparently they've moved out of town, no one knows where though."

"Good riddance," Damon said uncaringly. Stefan and I share a glance, probably both wondering the same thing. Damon notices this and deadpans. "I didn't kill them."

"We never said you did," Stefan said, holding his hands up in defence.

"I didn't!"

"Oh, I better head off to school," I said, checking my wrist despite not owning a watch and getting up.

"I didn't!" Damon insists, rolling his eyes dramatically. "And if I did, they deserved it!"

"Sure thing," I say leaving the room.

"We believe you," Stefan agreed.

The two of us nodded and left the room with grins on our faces. Sometimes it was too easy, these harmless shenanigans. But it felt good to just act normal around them, forgetting that they're vampires who drink blood. Wow, that's still weird to think in a serious sentence.

This morning though, I enter the boarding house and head straight to the living area where the brothers are already in, halfway through a conversation. Neither of them notices my entrance, the two of them looking the other way.

"London maybe," Damon says in response to something Stefan said, looking out the window. "See some friends."

"You don't have any friends, Damon," Stefan replies.

"You're right, Stefan," Damon says sarcastically, "I only have you."

And at that, I decide to make my dramatic entrance. "I resent that statement!"

"Oh, hey Skye, didn't see you there," Damon says, and something tells me he may have heard me come in.

"Morning," Stefan greets.

"So what're you talking about?" I asked, planting myself down on one of their many overly expensive sofas. "Are you going on vacation? Oh! Do you know what you two should try out for? _The Amazing Race! _I was watching it with my brother last night, and you two would totally win."

"Now that," Damon says, hopping over and sitting in the seat beside me, "Sounds like a great idea, what do you think Stefan?"

Stefan, however, doesn't seem to be as big of a fan as we are. He rolls his eyes and turns away.

I wonder what's up with him this morning...I mean, having to start your day off with Damon is sure to put you in a mood but hey, I'm also here! Wait, that might also be the issue.

"So, anymore dreams about me?" Damon asks, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

I roll my eyes. "No," I tell him and he sighs dramatically. "It's thankfully been...quiet the past couple of days. After that very brief nightmare that I had at Elena's, it's been alright actually..."

"Hm, how boring."

"Well, have you had any dreams about me then?"

"You wish."

"Ah, you have! What was it then? Spill it."

"It was a horrifying nightmare," Damon said sarcastically, leaning forward dramatically. "You wouldn't stop asking meaningless questions, demanding I introduce you to Anne Hathaway despite never meeting the woman in my whole immortal life -"

"That reminds me."

"Oh boy."

"How do you know you're actually immortal?" I ask seriously, getting met in response with a blank stare.

"You're joking, right?" Damon says with a deadpanned expression.

"I'm being one hundred per cent serious," I reply, leaning forward and getting ready to explain my theory. "Because what if you're just dying really, really slowly. Like, sure you have these regenerative powers and such, but what if you aren't actually immortal and will actually die in like a thousand years? No reason, just once you hit one thousand or something you drop dead."

Stefan's voice calls from the other room, "Skye, it's too early for an existential crisis."

The door knocks and Damon gets up immediately to answer it. "This conversation? Let's never have it again," he says, walking backwards.

Turns out the person at the door was none other than the Sheriff, Caroline's mom. Sure, she was a little shocked to see me but I made up the excuse of giving Stefan homework that he missed out on for being off sick. I don't think he's actually dropped out of school yet, officially I mean.

Liz and Damon step outside, and Stefan takes a seat by the window, listening in to what they're saying probably. I take the seat beside him, not sure why since these super hearing powers probably won't extend to me.

"You vampires are so nosey, you know that?"

"Sh."

"...come on, what're they saying?"

"Shh..."

"Damn, at least Damon fills me in on the goss - "

"There's been another vampire attack," Stefan finally says, "A woman..."

"Oh boy," I groaned. "It couldn't have been Damon though, he's been laying low to try and get on the council, this doesn't make sense."

"Damon doesn't usually make sense."

"Even for him, this seems off. How about - "

"They're coming back."

The doors open.

" - this next chapter on algebra is a little tricky to wrap your head around, but stick with it and you'll get it. Plus, if you need any help - "

"She's out of earshot."

"Oh thank god," I breathed a sigh of relief, slumping into the side of the sofa.

It isn't long before Damon finishes up with pretending to be the saviour of the town and closes the door behind Liz. As soon as that door shuts, Stefan is up like a shot and shoving his brother against the door. Oh boy, guess he does think this isn't the work of Damon huh. Valid honestly, all things considered.

"What is wrong with you?" Stefan says, "You killed somebody?"

"Get off me." Damon pushes Stefan's hands off of himself, walking around him confidently. "A- don't touch me. B- if I did, I wouldn't have been so obvious about it. C- there's another vampire in town."

"That's impossible."

"Oh boy," I sigh, "Another one? And a homicidal one at that? Great, love that."

"Only got room for one homicidal vampire in this town, right?" Damon smirks, raising an eyebrow.

I give him a thumbs up. "You said it."

"Who could it be?" Stefan wonders.

"Well," Damon sighs dramatically, turning away from him. "We're leaving anyway."

Wait, what?

"You're leaving?" I ask them, seeing the pair exchange a glance. "Like, for good?"

"Apparently so," Damon says, turning to look at Stefan who looked like he was having second thoughts all of a sudden.

"No," Stefan says, and I don't understand why that makes me so happy, but I'll roll with it. "I can't leave now and you know that." Ah, so he does still care about Elena, I was wondering if that were true considering he's hurting her by staying away. "How are we supposed to find this other vampire?"

"Let me handle this, Stefan," Damon says and turns to me. "Need a ride to school? You're gonna be late."

I check the time on my phone and stand up quickly. "Shoot, yes please."

"This is what you get for snooping and being nosey."

"Like you can talk."

Holding onto the seat of the car for dear life isn't exactly how I pictured the day starting, but I guess when you can manipulate anyone it means you're never going to get a speeding ticket ever again. Hey, at least I'm gonna make it to school on time, look on the bright side of it and all.

Most of the car journey is spent jamming out to some old tunes, occasionally giving Damon into trouble for definitely breaking the law and then getting told:

"What do you know? You don't even have your license."

"Yet!" I correct him, rolling my eyes. "I could take my test any day now and pass!"

"Uh-huh."

"I could!"

"Sure."

"Damon."

"Skye."

Thankfully I can see the school in the distance, and it's before the first bell. Perfect. This dangerous journey was worth it then. Before I can get out the car though, Damon puts a hand on mine as I go to take off my seat belt. It's warm, must have remembered to of had his morning coffee.

I blink at the hand and then his face. "What's up?"

"I need your help with this vampire situation later," he says.

I raise an eyebrow in confusion. "Um, what time? We've got careers night tonight so it can't be too late."

Damon rolls his eyes. "You'll make the event, I just need you for an hour, two max."

"Sure," I agree, waiting for him to remove his hand. "I'll text my mom and let her know I'm staying at school and she can meet me here for five? Will we be done by then?"

The hand remains, but Damon nods. "I'll get you here when you're finished with...this."

This, being school I presume. Speaking of which, the bell rings and it's time for me to hurry.

"Damon," I say.

"Yeah?" he replies.

"Hand?" I say.

"Oh!" he replies.

And finally, his hand leaves and I'm able to hurry out, yelling a quick thank you for the lift and rushing into the building past other students. I need to get to my locker fast!

An arm slings itself across my shoulder. "Hey, Skye!" At least I won't be walking into class myself.

"Hey, Tyler," I reply, finally reaching the lockers and opening mine at perhaps a new record, damn! "What's up?"

Expecting to hear the usual 'not much' I'm kinda surprised when I actually hear gossip coming from him. "Caroline and Matt seem to have gotten pretty close, you should have seen how friendly they were acting with each other before, it's bizarre!"

"Good for them," I say, slamming the locker shut once I got all my books. "They both deserve a little happiness, don't you think?"

"Isn't it weird though?" Tyler says, ever the teenage boy.

"Not really," I reply, speed walking us towards our first class. "I mean, they're both blonde, both gorgeous, both lovely individuals - "

"Questionable."

"Hey! All I'm saying is I think it's good for them. This gives Matt a proper chance to get over Elena - don't deny it! You've seen puppy dog eyes off him! It also gives Caroline a chance to have an actual healthy relationship."

"What about that other guy she was with recently? Wasn't he Stefan's brother or something?"

"Like I said, healthy."

The rest of the school day, I realised exactly what Tyler meant by the two blondes being really friendly with each other. It was a little out of place considering we spent years seeing Matt acting like this with Elena, but it's cute, they're cute together! And neither of them seem to notice just how cute they're being which makes it even cuter!

Well, until Tyler ruins it with his 'we' talk.

"Stop bullying him, Tyler," I scold from the sidelines of their mini-basketball game, trying to finish off homework that I swear was due tomorrow and not next period!

"Yeah, you accuse me of becoming a 'we' person, but what does that make you and Skye?" Matt accused, going for a three-pointer and completely betraying my trust.

"Oi!" I called out, offended as I had just tried to defend him!

"That's completely different," Tyler replies, stealing the ball and making a shot.

"Is it?" Matt says in this way that says he just doesn't believe you, but he's only acting that way to annoy you. "I mean, your moms don't think it's any different."

"Leave our moms out of this!" I tell him, pointing a finger at him. "You're not getting on my approval list for Caroline's potential suitors."

"Potential suitors?" Tyler says, pausing in his game to raise an eyebrow. "It isn't like guys are lining up to take her out."

"Yet!" I declare confidently, "Trust me, with how amazing Caroline is, it isn't going to be long until others start to realise her talents, her beauty, her -"

"Crazy obsessive friend?"

I throw my pencils and erasers at the boys' heads as they giggle like a couple of little kids, successfully distracting me from the incomplete homework which, in the end, was done very rushed, and perhaps not all correct, but handed in none the less.

The end of school came around soon enough, I managed to convince Caroline to cover for me if my mom arrived early and to tell her that I was helping set things up. The school and a variety of classrooms were beginning to be transformed into dinky little booths where you'd be able to talk to different people about your future in their course, their college, their university.

Damon is exactly where I left him this morning, however this time without the car, making me groan already. He sees me coming and sends a sarcastic little wave. Great, so it's one of those days.

"Right," I say once I'm close enough to him, rolling up the sleeves of my leather jacket. "We've got our matching jackets, what's the plan?"

"You didn't have that this morning."

"It was in my locker, and since you only own the one jacket I thought it'd look cute to match."

"Uh huh, cute," Damon says unconvincingly but starts walking off, not waiting for me to catch up apparently. "You got your phone on you?"

"Of course."

"Good. You'll need it."

We walk in a comfortable silence until we reach the middle of town where he takes out a pocket watch from his well, surprise surprise, pocket and hands it to me.

I flip it over a few times, noting how old it was. Opening it up, it's more like a compass than it is a watch upon further investigation and it points straight at Damon. Now, this better not be some Pirates of the Caribean shit right here, or else I'm calling bull.

"What is this?" I ask finally.

"It's a special watch one ancient Gilbert made and was used to track you-know-who's back in the day," Damon explained quickly, watching the arrow moving left to right as he moved with it. "Now, this is where I need your help because I can't exactly use this little device but it's been entrusted with me to use so. I'm going to run really far away and get out of the signal, and you're going to follow it and tell me where you are until we find where this person is hiding."

"Love that plan, basically a deadly scavenger hunt, huh, " I say, getting my phone out to check the battery on it. Yeah, it'll be fine. "Okay, let's get started."

And for the next hour, I'm walking all the way through town, and then into the woods, all the while on the phone to Damon and wondering where on earth I was being led to.

"Are you sure you're far enough away from this signal?"

"For the fifth time, yes! I'm not even in town anymore!"

"It feels like I've walked out of town, my feet are killing me."

"Can you do anything but complain?"

"I have a right to complain! I'm going to show up at this careers event tonight late, covered in sweat and mud and with twigs in my hair, god! Why can't you make friends who are more suited to this kind of thing?"

"Aw, but they aren't as fun as you. Sunshine of my life, a ray of fuckin joy."

"If I wasn't kind of lost right now, and getting a lift back to the school after this, I'd be out of here."

"Who says you're getting a lift back?"

"Damon!" I groaned, hating myself for almost throwing a temper tantrum.

"I'm kidding!" he says from the phone, and I wonder if he was. "So what's so important about this careers night? Have you got something specific in mind?"

"Well, plans feel like they might change after finding out about this supernatural world, you know?" I said with a shrug even though he couldn't see, but habits are habits. "Got to keep in mind that I can't be famous anymore, can't bring attention to myself with this damn mark."

Damon snorts, and I prepare myself for the incoming insult. "And what? You were gonna be a superstar after high school?"

"You never know," I say, "My talents may surprise you, I am one of the leads in the drama we're putting on this term."

"How interesting. But come on let's talk careers, what's that young mind of yours thinking of doing?"

"I'm almost embarrassed to say."

"Almost being the key word."

"True, good point. Well, some sort of investigator perhaps. Look into cases surrounding the impossible and perhaps help bring light to what happened. Knowing about the supernatural world already would give me an advantage, knowing some supernaturals like you and Stefan, and even Bonnie and her Grams would also be a good support."

"So...you're using your connections to get up in the world?"

"No!"

"Wow, Skye."

"Damon!"

"I didn't think you were so shallow."

"I didn't mean it like that and you know it!"

"What will your mother say? You used to be so kind, so caring."

"I swear to god Damon... Right, I think I'm here, come get me." I say, standing outside some sketchy looking warehouse and glaring at the dirt track road which I could have taken instead but no, the damn watch leads me through the muddy parts of town.

Damon appears not even a minute later, and I wonder what it's like to basically be the Flash, able to get from point A to point B with little to no trouble at all.

"Cool," he says, sizing the building up, "It's time for you to go."

I roll my eyes at the blunt attitude I've become used to. "Are you even able to get in here? You don't exactly have permission."

"What?"

"In fact - "

Damon groans, "Oh no."

Glaring I continue, "How do you get into places like Walmart and stuff? Yeah, it's technically for the public but someone still owns it. Perhaps because it's for the public you don't need permission. But then how would it work for people who offer lessons in their homes? Would a welcome sign give you access? What about a welcome mat? Is this why my family refuses to have one or are we just rude?"

Instead of responding, Damon just looks down at me and all of a sudden I feel a bit self-conscious.

"What?" I ask when he doesn't say anything.

He raises a hand slowly, or am I just seeing it slowly? Have I become the Flash? No, you're just having a little panic, Skye, chillax! And then his hand is in my hair, and what the hell is he doing?

Pulling his hand back, lo and behold, there's a damn twig with a leaf sticking out of it. "I didn't think you were serious about having jungle hair."

I tell myself to relax, he was just looking at the damn twig, but my heart still races. "Yeah, I probably look like a riot."

"That's one description," Damon smirks, and then opens his arms.

"What?" I ask again, more confused now than ever before. "Why do you want a hug?"

"Didn't you say you wanted a lift back to the school?" he says as if it was obvious why he was acting like This.

"Yeah but..." I don't even know what to say in this situation. I sighed and stepped into his arms, wrapping mine around his middle. "This is such a weird day."

"You're friends with vampires and witches, get used to it," Damon says, and when you put it like that sure. I guess he's right. "Ready?"

"Ready."

And then the world flashes by, and god I wish I didn't have to close my eyes as often as I did, as seeing buildings and people and streets just fly by is such a surreal experience. My hair is already a mess, but I hope at this speed that any twigs or stray leaves will have flown off.

After saying see you later to Damon, I found Caroline and turns out no, I not only still had twigs in my hair but I looked like enough of a riot that she dragged me into the female bathroom to give me deodorant and to fix my hair.

And then the very awkward interrogation began.

"Were you having sex in the woods, Skye? Is this why you wanted me to cover for you? Because if you were you need to tell me all the details."

"I wasn't having sex in the woods, Caroline."

"Mmhmm, that sounds fake."

"I wasn't! I would tell you if I had!"

"Promise?"

"Pinky promise."

"What were you doing then?" she asked after a pause, brushing through the tangles in my hair.

"Ugh," I said, not realising I hadn't come up with a believable cover story until now when I actually needed one. "Adventuring?"

After a few minutes of convincing Caroline that I had definitely not had any sex in any of the woods, we left the bathroom and I felt much fresher and able to face my mom who messaged saying she was with Tyler's mom by the entrance. Oh boy. We're in for a night.

Walking through the corridors, almost dramatically like we were in a movie, Tyler joins me.

"Are you ready for this?" he asks seriously.

"Are you?" I fire back, glancing at him from the corner of my eye. "We're going to have to talk about the future with our moms, they're going to bring up us getting together at some point."

"We've survived before."

"That's when it's just one of them, this is a 2v2 situation now."

"Shit, you're right."

"We've just got to play it cool."

Tyler stops suddenly, extending a hand. I shake it. "It's been a pleasure surviving with you all these years," he says.

"And you," I say, trying my best not to grin at how ridiculous we're being.

We reach our moms, my brother playing on my old GameBoy console and greet them happily. Carol is honestly worse than my mom, but with her influence, my mom becomes just as bad at the suggestion of us getting together.

Instead of trying to play off their comments, I instead lean over Kieron's shoulder to see what game he's playing, getting elbowed in the stomach promptly for apparently distracting him. Seeing Tyler, his best bud apparently, he brightens up real quick.

"Their kids would be so cute..."

End me, end this night, I'm done already.

Thankfully, we split up to look at the different stalls set up. Despite admitting to Damon earlier about potentially looking into investigating different potentially supernatural cases, I couldn't exactly say that to my mom. So we spend some time looking at each stall, longer at some stalls than others, picking up a couple of leaflets.

Kieron spends most of his time sitting in a corner of the room stuck to his game, which is a big mood. I kind of wish I didn't have to worry much more about my future, especially considering I almost died the other week. Man, it's weird thinking that. Ha, let's not dwell on it for too long or else I might start crying again.

Some stalls and subjets blend into each other, but it's the stall that is dedicated to journalism that really kind of sparks something. This could actually be a good way to diverge into different cold cases which could have been a result of the supernatural world.

So, with my mom's support, I talk through different options with the lady behind the stall, exchanging what my current grades and expected grades for the end of this term are to be, reminding me to actually tell my mom about Tanner and my history mark.

"Rest his soul," she says, "But what a prick."

And I think that sums up Tanner quite well.

Nothing dramatic happens until a bit later, trying my best to escape a painfully awkward conversation with Tyler's mom.

"Aw, you could go to the same college! Get out there, together, exploring new things. It would be nice if you had someone you know with you, that you can trust, you know?"

I just smile and nod, glancing around the room for some sort of escape.

And then I spot it.

"Hey mom," I say, pointing to where Logan Fell, the news reporter guy is talking to the Sheriff. "Should we go talk to Logan and get some pointers for this journalism stuff?"

She gets a tight grip on my arm before I can even move. "No!" she says, panicked. I hardly ever see my mom panicking, so this sets me off immediately. "Where's your brother?"

Looking around, he wasn't sitting in the seat from earlier, but there was the old GameBoy. I rush over to the seat and pick it up, seeing that the game wasn't even paused. What the hell...

I turn around and see my mom and Liz Forbes talking quietly but in a mild panic.

What is going on?

I head out of the room into the corridor, because maybe Kieron just went to the bathroom or something, right? In my mind though, I know he would have told us, he wouldn't have left his game unattended. Where is he?

Running into Elena and Stefan, if something's up they'll know, surely, and if not they'll help.

"Hey," I say out of breath despite not even running far, "Have either of you seen Kieron? He's missing."

"Missing?" Elena says nervously, glancing at Stefan. "When was the last time you seen him?"

"Literally like two minutes ago," I say, my breathing picking up, "He was sitting in the corner playing his game, Logan Fell the news guy was next to him one second, and then - "

"Logan?" Stefan says, eyes wide.

I nod my head, my heart dropping. "Why are people acting like this it's such a big thing? What's up with Logan?"

"He's the vampire," Stefan said quietly, and my eyes widen.

"What?" I ask, placing a hand to my chest. "H-How? When? I remember mom saying he was taking a b-break for a while but I didn't realise he was..."

"He attacked me when I went looking for Vicki, she ended up feeding on him and killing him. Or so we thought..." Stefan explained quickly. Then he places his hands on my shoulders. "Hey, breathe, it's going to be okay, we're gonna get them back."

"Them?"

Elena rolls her eyes and pushes Stefan gently. "Go, now."

"Who did he mean by them?" I ask Elena as he walks through the crowd quickly. I can vaguely see Sheriff Forbes also making her way down the corridor. "Elena."

"Caroline," she says quietly.

"Oh god," I breathe, wrapping my arms around her, not sure whether I'm trying to comfort her or myself, maybe a bit of both.

After a brief moment where I'm able to gather myself a bit more, Elena and I break apart. "Come on, let's just try and act like we don't know any better okay?" she says, "Stefan will find them, they'll be fine."

I nod my head, following Elena as we walk back into one of the rooms. I don't see my mom anywhere, and I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, wondering how we would both pretend not to know where Kieron really was and how much danger he was potentially in.

Unnecessary stress, can't deal with that right now.

And then, to make this night even better, Tyler and Jeremy end up getting into a mini fistfight. The mayor, Tyler's dad I should say, breaks them apart and says that they should follow him. From where I'm standing I see Tyler's eyes widen.

Before I know it, I find the only person I can think of that could potentially help out in this situation, someone who isn't completely under the mayor's thumb yet and potentially never will be because he definitely gives off 'fuck the authority' vibes.

"Mr Saltzman!" I stop him.

"What's up, Skye?" he says, raising an eyebrow at how distressed I'm probably looking but damnit it's not been a good night, can we please get one good, normal night in Mystic Falls? Is that too much to ask for?

"You saw what happened with Tyler and Jeremy?" I ask quickly.

"Yeah, I seen the mayor take them outside, why?"

Hopefully, pleading with my eyes will convey just how much we need someone to step in right about now. "They need your help."

And then it's as if some sort of shadow comes over his face, and he becomes a different person. Not a complete 180 change, but very much someone I wouldn't wanna get into a fight with.

I follow him through the corridors of the school until we make it to the exit that the others left through.

"I'm not gonna fight him, dad!"

"Do it!"

I see Tyler flinch back, but the anger he holds in his eyes is immeasurable. Tyler doesn't deserve a dad as shit as mayor Lockwood. Nobody deserves this.

Thankfully, Alaric manages to step in and break it up like a total badass while I hid behind the door like a bit of a wimp. I'll have to find Tyler later I realise as his dad practically drags him away, and I hope he'll be okay.

Either way, Alaric Saltzman is now certified badass! He stood up to the mayor, not just anybody can say they've done that.

We head back into the school, and I see my mom hugging my little brother, who looks very confused. And I'm filled with relief. He's okay.

Right, time to play it cool.

"Hey," I say reaching them, wrapping an arm around Kieron's shoulder and passing him the GameBoy. "What are you doing leaving this behind, huh?"

"My GameBoy!"

"_My_ GameBoy," I correct him, letting him open up the game and wrapping my arms around him. The fact that he lets me is enough indication that he's had a rough night, and I'm just glad he's okay.

* * *

**Words: 8,972  
Proofread: I think so? I hope so**

**This chapter became a lot chunkier than I first thought it was gonna be, even though I cut the episode at the end there, I just love filling it up with dialogue and rambling huh? Hope you enjoyed either way! Because we know next chapter is gonna be fun~**

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**Guest - v glad you spotted that lil reference, was quite proud of it tbh lol. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and are surviving quarantine! Some stuff with the birthmark situation got explained by Sheila who btw I think is a v cool lady and could be a bigger character in other fics involving supernatural stuff? Ofc she doesn't know everything as that would be too easy :)**


	15. Chapter 15 - Bree's Bar

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* * *

For the rest of the evening, I spent my time hanging out with Kieron, letting him ramble on about one of his games which I played many years ago and already know all about, but just letting him talk excitedly because after what he had to go through tonight, that's what he deserves.

I wonder what he actually remembers though...did Stefan or Damon erase his memories? Did Logan? What happened exactly happened to them?

My phone buzzes on the drive back home and seeing it's a message from Damon something tells me that I'm gonna get some answers real soon.

_"Are you free to talk business?"_ he texts.

_"Nope,_" I respond. "_Gimme like 5 minutes_."

We get home soon enough, and I opt to stand out on the porch to take this phone call so I don't disturb Dad who is probably already asleep. Mom reminds me to lockup once I'm done, and takes Kieron inside.

Not even one ring goes by before Damon picks up the phone, a nice change from previous attempts.

"Hey, what's this about?" I ask as I take a seat on the bench, looking out at the street as the light fades to darkness, and the stars begin to shine.

"I'm thinking about going on a little road trip, wanna come with?" Well, that's pretty random.

"Road trip?" I say, raising an eyebrow. "Where to?"

"Georgia."

"Georgia?!" I gape, "That's quite the distance, why Georgia?"

"I've got a witchy friend that could perhaps help us out with some questions we may have."

"Why didn't you ask Sheila when we were with her last?"

"Why didn't you?"

"I was a bit traumatised, I'll get round to it eventually," I pout, realising only now that I probably should have asked more questions concerning the dreams I have and what part these people that appear in them so frequently play.

I mean, considering everything she's said, these appear to be past lives of mine that I have already lived, which explains why I sometimes appear to have a different accent, different ethnicity, different gender, all that jazz.

It's quite interesting when you think about it, and I wonder exactly how many lives I have lived in total, how old am I technically?

In fact, wait, I'm getting ahead of myself, am I actually these people? Were these people me? Does each of them make up who I am today, right here, right now? Or does this mark just give me the memories of those who also possessed this mark?

"Skye?"

Oh boy, I've been zoning out. "Yeah?" I say finally.

"You heard there was a psychotic vampire on the loose who managed to kidnap not only your friend but also your little brother, and you decide to have this phonecall outside where you have zero protection? Have you lost your mind?"

...well when he puts it like that.

Wait a minute.

I sigh, crossing an arm over my chest. "Where are you?"

"Right here," Damon replies smugly, appearing on the seat next to me with a little sarcastic wave.

We each shut off the phone calls with only a little flourish because of course we still gotta show off our attitudes.

"Listen," I say defensively, "It seems like you and Stefan dealt with it, problem solved right?"

"Wrong," Damon said quickly, and I wonder what we've got ourselves in for now. "Logan was turned by another vampire, and the only reason I didn't kill him was that he was going to tell me who it was in exchange for his life, but I just got a phonecall from sheriff Forbes thanking me for killing him."

"How does that work out?"

"It means someone else in this town knows about you-know-what's," he said, looking straight ahead. "And they also know how to kill them."

I try and think about it rationally. "Could it have been someone from the council maybe? You know, doing their civic duty?"

"Not likely," says Damon, unfortunately, shaking his head. "They would have informed the rest of them straight away, they wouldn't have just left a body like that and not say anything."

"Won't it look now suspicious that you didn't call it in?"

A moment of silence.

"Future-you problem?"

"Yup," Damon replies swivelling around in his seat to face me. "Right now, road trip. Are you in? Or are you in?"

I shrug nervously, "I dunno...what would I tell my parents? Yeah, I'm just going to Georgia with this 20-something-year-old man, don't worry about me."

With a wiggle of his eyebrows, Damon says, "I could compel them if you want?"

And that brings me onto my next point. "Speaking of you compelling my family, did you do anything to Kieron when you guys rescued him?"

"You're welcome, by the way." Ah, yeah, probably should have thrown a thank-you in there. "And I just removed the supernatural stuff, which was half the fear he felt, to be honest. Tough kid, either that or he didn't realise the danger he was in fully."

"True," I smiled, happy to know Kieron was gonna be fine physically, and probably mentally too.

There's a pause where I just take the moment to really look at Damon and take in the fact that in such a short space of time, he's really become quite a significant part of my life. I remember what Stefan said before though, that they'll be leaving, and my heart drops for some reason. Is this road trip disguised as a last goodbye kind of deal? Or is Damon still going to stick about to help solve whatever all of this means?

As I'm starting to realise that I'm staring into the side of his face, I begin to notice little parts of a person that you can't really catch when you're on the move. Little details that you only really notice in a person until you sit down at the end of a long day and can finally take a breather. He may have the longest eyelashes I've ever seen on a man, and with pretty-boy Matt rocking his stuff that's an achievement for sure. His hair also does this thing where it curls slightly at the back which is a difference to the look being served at the front.

Eventually, enough time has past where we just sit there, enjoying the night sky where I can eventually say, "Thank you, Damon. For saving my brother's life. And mine, I guess."

Damon turns his head to face me again and gives me a half-smirk. "You're welcome, Skye."

I grin in return taking a deep breath before standing up. "So, road trip, how many days am I packing for?"

"Just the one," he says, standing up, "Don't even need to pack anything, we'll be driving through the night so we don't waste any daylight."

"Wait, we're leaving right now?"

"Uh-huh."

Oh boy, this may end up being a little more difficult than I was expecting. "But..."

"But what?"

"I've got school tomorrow," I say, trailing off at the end. Damon gives me a deadpanned look and I sigh. "I mean, do we have to do this now?"

Damon bites his lips, nodding his head. "I'm on a bit of a time limit right now, so if you don't wanna come that's fine but I'm leaving tonight."

I contemplate the pros and cons, wondering whether I can convince Tyler to cover for me securely enough that my attendance won't be completely wrecked, the answer is probably, perks of being best friends with the mayor's kid. This is also a very nice opportunity to get to know Damon outside of Mystic Falls drama and to finally figure out why he came back in the first place.

"Fine," I say eventually, brushing past Damon to get to the door. "I'll be out in ten minutes."

"What, you aren't inviting me in?" he says innocently.

"No chance," I snort, entering my house and locking the door behind me. I quickly locked up downstairs the way I normally would be, making enough noise so that my mom knows I'm in but not enough to wake up my dad.

Not to say that I don't trust Damon enough to let him in, but I want to try and keep vampires out of my house mainly because I don't want my family finding out. Also, it would look suspicious having an older guy in the house very late at night, vampire or not doesn't matter.

God, it feels like I'm in the closet again.

After changing clothes and putting my old ones in the wash basket, I brush my teeth in the bathroom and grab my school bag, packing an extra t-shirt, a phone charger, and some mints. Not to say which brand because I'm not sponsored, but it's very similar to the word tactic.

Before moving towards the window, I grab another jacket just in case it gets cold. Looking down after opening the window and not seeing Damon, I quietly go, "Pst!"

A second later he appears and sends me an incredulous look, making the general hand gestures for 'what do you think you are doing?'

I throw him my bag, which he thankfully catches with an 'ooft' as if that had dropped on the ground then the noise may have drawn some attention, which wouldn't have been good in this stealthy operation.

Next, I'm taking a deep breath before sliding out the window, putting my feet on the ledge below and slowly shutting the window behind me. Now comes the hard part.

Damon below makes an even more confused face, holding his hands up either side of his face to really display how befuddled this operation is. You know this is kind of funny, maybe I should do this more often.

I give up a thumbs up and a confident smile before pushing myself off of the side of my house and towards the bushes below. This should break my fall enough, right?

Unfortunately, I don't really get a chance to find out as one minute I'm flying through the air, doing my best not to scream, and the next I'm halfway across town beside Damon's car.

"Hey!" I pouted.

"What the hell do you mean 'hey'?!" Damon yelled, throwing me roughly onto my feet and making me stumble slightly. "What was that? And what's with the outfit change?"

"Well, I've never really snuck out before," I admit, brushing off the imaginary dust from my leggings, "And I've always wondered if the bush would break my fall enough."

"And you thought _now_ was a good chance to try it out?"

"With the ability to immediately heal up perfectly straight after? Ugh, yeah!"

"You're unbelievable," Damon said rolling his eyes.

I roll my eyes right back, crossing my arms over my chest. "And as for the outfit change, you think I'm gonna be sitting in a car for who knows how many hours in jeans? I think not. And another thing - "

"Shush!" Damon suddenly says, looking down the road.

He...I can't believe he shushed me!

"Um - "

"Skye, get in the car."

"What?"

And then I'm getting pushed into the passenger seat of the car. "Get in there and stay there until I come back," he says throwing my bag at me before slamming the door shut. In the blink of an eye, he's gone.

You know, sometimes things happen and I wonder what causes them, other times I'm okay not knowing what's going on exactly and just rolling with it. Some things are just a bit too confusing.

Bored, I stick the radio on, getting to a good channel that isn't just static. However, that gets old real quick so I start searching through Damon's personal belongings and looking at the different CD's he has. Some of them are homemade, so I stick one on and start jamming out to the oldies tunes that start playing. It's kind of weird though how this music is technically new to the likes of Damon though, and for some reason that makes me smile.

A second later, I check the mirrors at the side to feel like I'm practising for my driver's test when I see Damon holding someone in his arms and...is that Elena?

Immediately after realising who it is, I hop out the car.

"I thought I told you to stay put," Damon grumbles walking quickly towards the car.

I ignore that because "What the hell happened?" I ask checking over her. "Is she okay? What did you do?"

Damon's eye flair with sudden anger and yells "What did I -" before taking a deep breath and rolling his eyes. "I'll have you know I saved her sorry ass after she got into a car crash."

"You caused a car crash?!"

"You're about to lose out on your ticket for this road trip, good luck sneaking back into your own house."

"I'm sorry!" I apologise quickly, opening the back door to the car. "Look, I'm just worried, just...I know first aid, please just tell me what happened while I check her over."

As Damon lowers her to the ground gently, I overhear a grumble of 'of course you know first aid' before he explains to me the sound of the car crash was why he ran off, and that there was a man who was apparently on the road, and that it seems like she and Stefan have had a bit of a domestic.

"What do you mean by that?" I ask as he places her into the car gently. No broken bones, nothing out of the ordinary that would suggest any internal bleeding, from what I can tell she should be fine, but I'm not an expert so let's hope we don't need to resort to the vampire blood which heals on command.

Damon sighs, closing the door gently, and nods his head. "Get in the car, let's have a chat."

Now, this put me on edge. A chat? About what? Don't tell me vampire blood only works 1 out of 5 times or some bullshit fine print.

However, no, this conversation was going to be a lot more detailed and a lot more confusing.

"Elena...looks like Katherine.." I repeat slowly as we drive out of town. "Katherine is the girl you both fell in love with, in like, the 1860s, 1870s, whatever...and she looks, how similar exactly?"

"Spitting image."

Ouch, for some reason that stings. "Uh-huh...and you're sure they aren't the same person?"

"Elena is human, Katherine was a vampire, there's no way to reverse the process," Damon explained quite patiently as it's taking me a minute to process this. "Which means either Katherine had a child before becoming a vampire, or someone she was closely related to did."

And then pieces started forming together because something didn't add up. "But...she wasn't a Gilbert."

"No, she wasn't. And she wasn't a human before coming to Mystic Falls, so couldn't of had a child here, as far as we know."

"So...does this mean that Elena is..." I trail off and glance behind me into the backseat where she's knocked out still.

"Yeah," Damon says without needing me to finish what I was saying, thankfully.

God, Elena is adopted. Does that mean her biological parents are out there somewhere? I'm not saying this as if the death of her real parents means nothing, because this is just going to spread more salt into those wounds because, why wasn't she told? You'd think they would have told her but...maybe they were going to and didn't or...

Who knows, they're dead now and didn't say anything when they were alive. But Jenna? Oh no, Jenna!

"Where's Elena's phone?" I ask, searching the backseat in case it fell.

"What for?"

"I need to text her aunt to let her know she's okay."

"Why?"

"Damon."

"Fine," he sighs, passing over the mobile device from his jacket pocket.

I send a quick text to Jenna pretending to be Elena and letting her know that the car broke down and that she's okay but staying over at...Bonnie's! None of our family really talks to Bonnie's dad. Thinking about that now, that's a little sad, maybe we should invite him to some more of these events in town.

I hand the phone back to Damon with a sigh, already feeling tired but not wanting to fall asleep just yet. "So, are we just taking Elena with us?"

"Might as well," he shrugs, "More the merrier, right?"

"Really?" I say, raising an eyebrow. That sounded like an outright lie.

The silence speaks volumes. "She's probably gonna want to get away from things for a while..."

Instead of focusing on the sudden prickly feeling forming in my stomach, I focus on what Damon's actually saying. "What do you mean? What happened?" I ask.

He sighed deeply, staring out towards the open road with an unreadable expression. I couldn't tell if he was exhausted, or...what. Eventually, it seems like he's found the right words though, but they really aren't what I was expecting...

"She found out that she looks like Katherine..."

"...wait, Katherine? The same Katherine who you were both...?"

"Yup," says Damon, pursing his lips.

There's a moment of silence as I take that information in.

"Like, how similar?"

"Completely identical."

"Seriously?" I say, running my hands through my hair, a million thoughts going through my mind. "How is that possible? The Gilberts are one of the founding families, and I remember how... you saying Katherine was the one who turned you, so she was already a vampire..." Damon nods along patiently, making humming noises at the right moments. "But wait...can vampires have kids if you're all, you know, dead?"

"Nope," Damon says, "So either she had a child while she was human, or someone in her family did."

"But still," I say frustrated, "How do they look identical?"

"That's the mystery," he grins sarcastically, fiddling with the audio for the radio.

I roll my eyes, not amused in the slightest. But wait, could this possibly be a similar situation to what I have with this mark? Someone who looks exactly like Elena dies and then is reborn somewhere else in the world? Or maybe even every few years? Maybe? It seems a little farfetched, but so does my birthmark. But then again, maybe I just want someone else to know what I'm going through...

And then suddenly I realise something. "When were you and Stefan planning on saying something about this?"

"Well," Damon drawls, a sign he was definitely trying to get out of trouble, "I didn't think it was my place considering Stefan is the one in a committed relationship with Elena, you know?"

"Still," I huffed, crossing my arms across my chest and looking out my window. "You could have told me..."

Silence forms between us, the sound of the radio crackling between stations as we drive on. The world passes by quickly as I stare out the window, the sun was long gone and the moon shining down brightly on the road, the only light available through these dark, country roads.

Stuck in my mind, I can't help but let my thoughts travel to the dreams I've had, where someone who looks exactly like Elena has been present. Her name was never mentioned in these dreams, but something tells me I may know who it is now.

Does this mean that we were friends in one of these apparent past lives of mine? I mean, it didn't show us not getting along with one another, we seemed quite happy and civil, but then again appearances were everything in the past, more so than they are now...

A cough from Damon brings me back to the present.

"Honestly, this was kind of what I wanted to talk to you about," he says quite awkwardly, and may I even say shyly? But it's gone and I'm greeted back with the Damon I'm used to. "However, I'm going to need you to swear to secrecy."

I grin, shaking my shoulders in a mini-happy dance. "Is this to do with you super-secret diabolical plan that you've been keeping from Stefan for weeks now and that he keeps pestering me about?"

Damon grins back, "The very one."

"Well," I say, leaning back in my seat. "You've got my loyalty. He's in the bad books until I get a proper explanation from him and an apology! Oh, and Elena needs to be happy with it too."

"You're a ride or die aren't you?"

"You best believe it," I say, and unfold my arms. "But seriously, what brought you back to Mystic Falls?"

The only word I can think of to explain how Damon is currently reacting would be...nervous. He's fidgeting with the wheel, avoiding eye contact although considering the speed he's driving at I don't mind him not looking at me right now.

He licks his lips before speaking. "It actually has to do with Katherine." Well, what a coincidence. "What we've told you about Katherine so far has all been true; Stefan and I fell for her individually, she kept it from us and we obviously didn't tell each other. And then the one night the town rounded up the vampires, took them to the church where they were burned and killed...or at least that's what the town thought."

I nod along, listening intently to the story being told, trying not to relish too much in the fact I was being entrusted with this information.

"I struck a bargain with a witch, Emily Bennet, your friends' ancestor," Damon continued, shaking his head in mild aggravation. "So long as I looked after her bloodline, she would save Katherine. There was a tomb underneath the church and she managed to seal it off, saving her life. However, the spell requires a few things to reopen the tomb. That necklace your friend destroyed, and a comet."

It clicked. "The comet is coming up, isn't it?"

"Bingo," Damon cheered quite unenthusiastically. "This comet does not just come every few years, oh no, that would just be too easy, right? I needed three things! A comet, that necklace, and someone to perform the spell! I had that necklace hidden from all those founders families for the last oh, good hundred years. I've protected the Bennet line all this time, waiting for this comet and now?" He sighed in frustration.

It's this moment that I realise he's been keeping this frustration to himself this whole time, for weeks in Mystic Falls but for how many years has he kept this to himself? At least a hundred, surely. Maybe not entirely to himself but he's been carrying this burden for so long.

"So," I say carefully, not wanting to put my foot in my mouth. "You've been working to bring Katherine back? And this witch that we're travelling to see, you think they'll know how to get the tomb open without the necklace?"

"That's what we're going to see," he replies evenly. Despite his frustration though, his shoulders look less stiff, relaxed.

And despite how hard it felt to say, I did manage to say to him, "I'll do everything I can to help you get her back."

The smile I got in return was nothing short of dazzling, and I decided to ignore that tinge of pain forming at the thought of Damon with someone looking exactly like Elena, probably leaving Mystic Falls and my short, cursed human life forever. But I'll get over it, whatever it is that I'm feeling.

"Get some sleep, it's gonna be a long drive."

"Okay," I agree, getting comfortable in my seat. "Make sure Elena doesn't die in the car, please."

"Yeah, yeah," Damon says, not very convincingly. "Try not to dream about me."

I shake my head with a smile on my face, yawning before closing my eyes. The sound of old classic rock tunes and the vibrations of the car helped lull me to sleep, ready to face whatever dreams were to come.

* * *

_The doors to the bedroom burst open and Elena flung herself at me, sobbing. Wait a second, old clothes, old building, overly grand decorations? Not my home, not my Elena. This must be Katherine, but she's upset, why? And why does she have a rock in her hand?_

_"What's wrong?" I asked her, closing the door quickly behind her, holding onto her as the sobs grew quieter. "What happened?"_

_"We have to leave," she said in hysterics, gripping my arms painfully. "T-They're bad men, demons!"_

_"Demons?" I repeat. "Surely not, please, just...sit, and let's talk this through - "_

_Suddenly she rips herself from me. "There isn't time!" she cries, and moves towards the closet, grabbing a pair of shoes in exchange for her bare feet. "Please, they're dangerous, you have to believe me. Please... If we don't flee now, we may not have another chance."_

_Unaware of the consequences, unsure of the situation as a whole, but knowing that my friend was sure we were in danger, I nodded my head. "Okay, let's go."_

_A look of relief appeared over her face for a split second, before being replaced with sheer determination._

_The next few scenes are...sudden and terrifying to say the least. Something tells me that it's snapshots of scenes, given they only last a few seconds. I'm not complaining, because what I'm seeing..._

_"We have to split up!"_

_"No, just keep running! Go!"_

_"Quick!"_

_There are torches lighting the forest up which create shadows dancing around me, men yelling orders and dogs barking indicating how close they are getting, it's a terrifying experience being hunted down by practically a small army with no way to defend yourself._

_And then a man appears in front of me, and he's furious. I recognise him as the dark-haired gentleman, the same man that had gone off with Katherine that day._

_"I can explain-"_

_My sentence is swiftly cut short as I find that his hand has gone **through** my chest._

* * *

I wake up with a start, hitting my head on the sun visor and banging my knee on the glove box at the same time. I groan, trying not to start crying - I'm not a wimp, I'm not!

"Yikes, Skye," Damon says making me jump. I forgot I was in a car with him. He turns to me and looks probably more freak out than I am. "What happened? You were fine just a second ago."

The sun shining down brightly gives me enough indication to know that I've at least slept through the night. I turn back in my seat to see Elena in the back, still sleeping soundly despite my rude and probably quite a loud awakening.

"Elena is fine, she hasn't woken up yet but she's okay," Damon tells me. That's good, what a relief. "But are you okay?"

For a second, I'm not sure.

It's just a dream, I remind myself trying to calm down.

It's just a dream now, but it wasn't always just a dream, this happened to somebody, to me, in a past life. These memories?

"Hey."

I turn to face Damon whose staring at me. Glancing out the front window wondering how he could possibly be driving right now and oh. We've pulled over onto the side of the road. Glad we aren't dangerous driving at least.

"Skye," he repeats, "Are you okay?"

I nod my head, taking another deep breath. "Yeah," I tell him. "Bad dream."

"Bad dream, or bad memory?"

"Yes?" I reply, shrugging my shoulders. A stare is all it takes for me to break. I sigh, "Memory."

"Do you...wanna talk about it?" Damon asks, rubbing the back of his neck. Something tells me he doesn't do this comfort thing often. And that makes me smile.

Closing my eyes, I can almost see his face, the man that killed me. But then it's just a blur. And I don't know if I want to discuss this dream with Damon specifically, considering it has Katherine in it and she...well, I don't know what happened to her. But maybe I can just...talk about the part that's really bugging me.

"I was killed," I say quietly, a lot quieter than I was intending but he could still hear me nonetheless. "A man managed to shove his hand through my chest, effectively removing my heart... I mean, it's not like I felt it in the dream it was just a shock is all but just knowing that this happened at all is..."

Damon sighs, a pained look on his face. "Well, yikes that's...that's pretty awful..."

"It's fine," I try to reassure him, placing a hand on his arm, taking it away just as quickly though. "It's all good now, I'll be fine."

There's a pause before he finally seems satisfied and smiles. "Good," he says, then turns towards the backseat of the car. "Because I think someone is finally waking up."

"Elena!" I turn around in time to see her holding her head and groaning.

Bleary-eyed, she glances between Damon and me, then she turns her face to the car window and upon seeing fields and a couple of cows, sits up straight.

"Morning, sleepyhead," greets Damon in his usual Damon way.

"Where are we?" Elena asks, her voice all croaky.

"Ugh," I turn to Damon, not exactly sure whereabouts we are.

"Georgia," he says and hey, we actually made it, shouldn't be too far to go now.

"What?" Elena says, probably a bit shocked about this new revelation. "Georgia? We can't be in Georgia, we've got school, we're..."

"Yeah, we're in Georgia," I say, shrugging my shoulders in a 'what can you do' sort of way. "I've already covered you with Jenna, she thinks that we stayed at Bonnie's, so you should be fine there."

"And I pulled your car to the side of the road so no one should bother it," Damon adds.

However, our attempts to calm her down don't seem to work as she says, "I think I'm gonna be sick..." before suddenly gets out of the car. Damon and I exchange a look before also getting out of the car.

I grab Elena's hair as she leans over, holding onto her knees. "You're okay," I reassure her, nervous in case she was going to throw up because I'm usually not the helper in this situation, mainly because I also throw up at the smell of vomit. Not a pleasant experience.

After a moment, she stands back up, thankfully not throwing up in the process. "I feel better," she says, and I let her hair go.

"Do you want some water?"

"Do you have any?"

"Ugh," I'm an idiot for offering what I'm not sure we have. I turn to Damon hopefully.

He rolls his eyes before leaning into the backseat and bringing out a small plastic bag with a couple bottles of water and some snacks. "Picked up some stuff when I was getting gas."

I could feel Elena's eyes on me as she downed a bottle of water, and I knew the questions would be coming soon. Or, at least they would after this phone call. The ringing phone, clearly Elena's ringtone, could be heard coming from Damon's jacket pocket.

"Is that my phone?" she says, already knowing the answer.

Instead of giving her the phone, Damon takes it out, checks the caller ID before answering it smugly, "Hello, Stefan."

And suddenly Elena is no longer interested. A valid response, except I want to have some words with Stefan.

"She doesn't really want to speak to you right now," says Damon, ignoring my attempts to take the phone from him.

"Let me speak to him, Damon," I said, making another attempt to snatch the phone.

_"Is that Skye? Did you take Skye too? Why?"_

"Listen here, Stefan!" I yelled, hoping to get my message across. "You've got a lot of explaining to do! I swear once we get back - "

Damon manages to wrap a hand around my mouth, pulling me back into his chest with one arm so I couldn't pull away, quite effectively shutting me up.

"Well, Stefan, you've really upset a few people so I think it's best that we leave you," Damon says, clearly ignoring what Stefan was saying on the other end of the phone call. "See you soon, bye-bye now!" And he shuts the phone off, tossing it back to Elena who manages to catch it but just stares at it with distaste.

"What's this about?" she asks, looking between Damon and me once more. "Why are we in Georgia, of all places?"

"Ugh," I trail off, glancing at Damon wondering if I should disclose everything. Probably not. I turn back to Elena and shrug my shoulders. "Roadtrip?"

"You two?" she says, pointing now. "You're on a road trip together? Why? And why did you bring me with you?"

Again I shrugged. This time, Damon replies, "Well, it was just as we were about to go and we weren't about to leave you in the middle of the road. Plus, it seemed like you could use a time out with everything happening with Stefan..."

Elbowing Damon gently seeing Elena's face fall, I try and change the subject. "What happened last night? I mean, you're the most responsible driver out of all of us."

This time Damon elbows me, raising an eyebrow as if to say 'really? this is the better discussion' and you know what, he's probably right. And honestly, that's a horrifying thought.

However, Elena seemed to go for it. "There was a man on the road, he just suddenly appeared and I hit him, the car swerved and...the last thing I remember is seeing these black boots getting closer to the car...and then Damon appeared."

"You're welcome," Damon says and then opens the car door for me. "Now, come on. We're wasting time, we've still got a while to go."

I hop in, taking the little plastic bag of snacks with me and closing the door and hearing the beginning of an argument between Elena and Damon. But you know what, they poptarts aren't gonna eat themselves. Not sponsored.

Eventually, Elena gets back into the car, extending her hand and taking the bag from me as I pass it back. We end up starting off some random conversations, general small talk, mainly to keep the awkward silence at bay.

Which leads us to our current conversation.

Damon groans, probably considering crashing the car, to be honest.

"No, no!" Elena said, leaning forward in her seat, "Let her speak!"

"Thank you," I say, turning back to Damon so I could fully absorb the mental breakdown. "Now, all I'm saying is that I think vampires are wasting their potential! Y'all could be superheroes, real-life Barry Allens, real-life Bruce Waynes! But no, you guys just sulk around and drink blood and kill people."

"Yeah," Damon says, "That's the beauty of it."

"You can't convince me that you wouldn't be the Batman in a heartbeat."

"I'd personally say he's more of a Joker," Elena chimes in.

Damon suddenly slammed down on the brakes making Elena and I fly forward with yelps. "Now excuse me!"

And that's how many, many, many of our conversations transitioned. Thankfully, we didn't have very many of them emergency stops, my poor chest hurts but hey, remember to wear your seat belts kids!

Thankfully, we get to wherever it is that Damon is taking us, wherever this witch he knows is, and it turns out it's a bar. _Bree's Bar_ the sign reads, looking only slightly crusty but matching pretty well with the rest of this small town. This? We've travelled throughout the night and the whole morning? For this? I don't know what I was expecting to be honest, but it wasn't this.

"A bar?" Elena says as we all get out of the car.

"Yup," Damon replies, walking towards it.

"They aren't going to let us in, we're underage," she continues.

I shrug, just figuring that because we were with Damon we would be fine. You know, compulsion, knowing the people, it comes in handy in some places.

We walk into the bar, and the woman behind the counter immediately notices us. Or well, I should say she notices Damon. "My honey pie," she calls him as she jumps over the counter and immediately brings Damon into a very passionate kiss.

My jaw drops.

I look over my shoulder to stare at Elena, whose jaw is also dropped.

What the McMacHeck?!

* * *

After that initial shock, we get invited to sit up at the bar where the woman known as Bree, go figure she owns the bar, sets us up with some lunch on the house! Burger and fries, standard bar food, and it's good stuff! Honestly, worth the trip just for this meal. The Grill is great, but you know it's nice to have some variety in your life.

Elena was a little more depressed in her meal though, no doubt because of one boy all the way back in Mystic Falls. I tried flicking salt at her playfully to try and bring her out of her slumber, but it was no use. Normally it's Bonnie that handles these moods, I usually get assigned Caroline, and these are two different battlefields to work my way around.

Bree brings about a change of pace though, a thankful distraction when she grabs a bottle and announces to the rest of the bar's occupants, "Listen up everybody! Here's to the man that broke my heart..." Ouch. "...crushed my soul..." Double ouch. "...destroyed my life..." Oh boy... "...and ruined any and all chances of happiness."

"Is that all?" I say, accepting the shot she places in front of us.

"Drink up," Bree smiles, knocking one back.

I follow figuring it would be rude to not accept. Elena though doesn't take the shot. I just take it and pass it to Damon before Bree notices. Elena sends a thankful smile, obviously not in the mood for drinking.

"So," Bree says, pouring out even more drinks, ma'am please it is like not even jokingly acceptable time for drinking yet. "How'd he rope you two in?"

"Huh?" I say, mid-eating a fry.

"I'm dating his brother actually," Elena says, holding hands up in defence. "Not roped."

Bree sends her a look like she doesn't really believe it. "Mmhmm...and what about you then missy?" Oh, she's talking to me. Roped?

"Huh?" I say again.

"Not the brightest this one," Damon says, stealing one of my fries!

"Oi!" I'm not entirely sure what I'm scolding him for, but it's probably the fries more than the insult, to be honest. I'm so hungry.

"Clearly if she's hanging around with you," Bree says teasingly, passing over another shot. "Listen, honey, you're either roped or you're whipped, either way, just enjoy the ride."

Again, I can't think up a proper response so I guess we're going for Telltale dialogue option 4 and saying, "Huh?" for the third time in a row.

Damon pats my shoulder, saying to Bree, "It's been a long journey, give her a minute." I roll my eyes and shrug his hand off, opting to eat instead of talk. Food has never hurt me the way people do. At least not with words, sometimes it burns when it's just finished cooking of course, but still.

"So, how did you two meet?" Elena asked, thankfully diverting the attention off me and my inability to hold a conversation.

"College," Bree said, causing both Elena and I to turn to our left where Damon sat.

I snorted as Elena asked in disbelief, "You went to college?"

Damon shrugged, "I've been on a campus, yes."

"How about a classroom?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

A smirk answered that question.

"About 20 years ago when I was a sweet young freshman, I met this beautiful man and I fell in love. And then he told me about his little secret, made me love him even more," Bree explained. I took a sip of water to try and extinguish the sudden burning sensation in my chest. Heartburn, yup. "Because I had a little secret of my own that I was dying to share with somebody."

And then it clicked.

I gasped, "You're the witch."

"That's right," Bree grins, turning to face Damon once more. "Changed my world, you did."

"I rocked your world," Damon flirted making her laugh.

As I'm taking another sip of water, Bree turns and looks at me before saying, "He is good in the sack, isn't he?" causing me to choke and start violently coughing. Elena hands me a napkin and I try to ignore the laughter coming from Damon and Bree.

"So," Bree says, turning serious and getting back down to business, "What is it you want?"

"Ugh, I'm gonna go call Jenna," Elena says, getting up and heading out the front door, effectively excusing herself from the conversation.

"Well," Damon says, "Let's first discuss what involves my dear friend Skye here."

Bree raises an eyebrow at this. I also raise an eyebrow. We probably raised them for very different reasons though.

"Can we trust her, Damon?" I whispered.

"I can hear you. You're still right in front of me."

"Sorry," I apologised, "It's just...witches aren't usually my biggest fans."

"And now why is that?" she asks suspiciously.

I turn to look at Damon, wondering just how trustworthy this woman was. They might go way back, but I've only just met her today. He nods his head though, and I trust him so I guess if he trusts her then so do I.

"I've got this...supposed bad omen," I say as nonchalantly as possible, trying to ignore the further eyebrow raise. "Honestly, the bad omen part is just a-a bad rumour probably, false information, ya know?"

"Show me."

And here comes my catchphrase I guess. "Huh?"

"Show me," she repeats, and this time I sigh.

Spinning around in my chair, I turn to face the window before lifting my hair and showing her the birthmark. I quickly spin back around again, not wanting to be poked or stared at any longer than necessary.

"What do you know about it?" Damon asks cooly.

Her expression is unreadable, but that's not exactly a bad thing. Who am I kidding, it's not gonna be good.

"Just that danger follows whoever has that mark," Bree replies, turning away to grab another bottle.

"Well, you see, the thing is that I've met someone with this mark many, many years ago," Damon says, watching Bree pour herself a substantial drink. "And now, this one sitting before us seems to have all that knowledge of me that he knew."

Now, this was something Bree wasn't expecting.

"Really?" she says in shock, staring at me in disbelief. She manages to crack a smile, "Was he always such a looker?"

"Can you tell us anything about this or not?" Damon asks, seeming to be getting a little tired of the flirting. "Where we could look for more information without other witches coming to kill her?"

Bree sighs, shaking her head. "I'm afraid not. It seems like you both know more about this than me already."

I sighed, disappointed. Came all this way for nothing then. Well, not entirely nothing but still. It just feels so frustrating being stuck, unable to find out any more information about all of this, safely. It's times like these that I wonder just how much Lexi knew... I just want to know how much danger I'm actually in, and what is this supposed danger or chaos that comes with this daft birthmark - aside from certain witches wanting me dead for existing.

First the church, now the witches. I can't get any peace.

"And what was this other thing you wanted to discuss?" Bree asks Damon. He raises an eyebrow and she sighs, seeming to know exactly what he was here for. "Katherine?"

"Yup," Damon says.

Bree sighs again, turning around and grabbing two bottles of bourbon, passing them to Damon and turning to me. "Do you want anything before I go have a chat with the man?"

* * *

The pair of them walked to the corner booth to have their discussion, and I avoided looking at them after Damon started getting flirty and handsy. Not my business. Elena was still outside though, seemingly needing some time for herself. Either that or she and Jenna were racking up a huuuge phone bill.

Eventually though, I spot Damon going towards the bathroom, and a quick glance shows me that Bree is no longer at the booth. I mean, that's fair, she's still working technically. It's starting to get busier too as we move from early to late afternoon, a more popular and acceptable time to be drinking.

And so there I sat alone with the remains of my meal with no Elena or Damon in view, just chilling as the bar gradually got louder with more people coming in. I glanced around the bar for Bree, wondering where she had disappeared to. Catching her on the phone in the back answered my question, however, the fact that she was next to a blender raised a few more...

Why would you inconvenience a call like that? Just turn the blender off for a minute. But also, there doesn't seem to be anything in that blender. Is she perhaps trying to cover up anybody listening in...? No, surely not. She and Damon are friends, perhaps overly friendly friends but still friends, surely that means something especially in a supernatural world where you have to keep a secret from just about everyone...

Stuck in my thoughts, I don't realise Bree has ended the call until she is right in front of me, pouring out a couple of tequila shots.

"Do you need stabilisers?"

"Excuse me?"

She raises an amused eyebrow. "Salt and lime?"

I gape dramatically, nodding my head enthusiastically. "Yes, I would like the full experience of a tequila shot, please."

The laugh I get from her is hopefully genuine, it sounds genuine but I can't help but be cautious after witnessing her suspicious behaviour. Maybe I'm overreacting, maybe she just didn't want someone listening to her give her bank details to some phone scam...right?

Together we take a shot, and when Damon eventually arrives back from the bathroom we do another, and then one more when Elena comes back and insists she would like a shot.

And looking back now, that was perhaps where it all went wrong.

Elena and I drunk together is a powerful combination, considering it doesn't happen very often. Usually, Caroline is the one to initiate the drunk antics, and then we just go along with it. But on the rare occasion that we end up getting drunk on our own, chaos is bound to ensue.

And this chaos is currently in the form of beating a bunch of the local regulars in a game of pool, 2v2 and as neither Elena nor I am any good at this sober, it's amazing how well we do when we're drunk.

"Yes!" Elena cheers as she manages to get another shot in. We high five, missing only slightly and giggling afterwards.

I look back towards where Damon and Bree are sitting together in a secluded corner once more, trying my drunken best to not be obvious about it.

"Sooo..." Oh no. "This trip was just supposed to be you and Damon, huh?"

"He-ey," I say, ignoring the hiccups interrupting me. "It's not like that."

"Not like what?"

"Like how you're saying it how."

"Mmhmm, you're telling me you don't - "

"Elena!" I groan, stepping up to the table to take my shot, wobbling only slightly. I glare as the ball just manages to evade the hole, bouncing off the side but at least blocking our opponents from getting a clear shot. "Listen, we're friends, this was a friendly road trip."

"Friendly," she repeats sarcastically.

"Elena!"

"Hold up, I got to answer this," Elena says suddenly, grabbing her jacket and rushing towards the door. "Don't lose!"

I end up losing. But it was close! Okay, I ended up yeeting the ball right out of the table but listen, it made people laugh so hey, silver lining.

I make my way back to our designated spot at the bar, hopping back onto the seat and asking Bree for some water.

She laughs, shaking her head as she passed the glass over, "You feeling okay, hun?"

"Mmhmm..."

"Mmhmm?" Bree says, leaning forward across the counter. She tilts her head. "Do you want some fries?"

"Mmhmm..."

"Mmhmm. You just sit tight."

It's weird, but the more water I seem to drink, the drunker I feel. My vision gets more blurry, time seems to move faster. Nobody bothers me thankfully, but I feel really weird. I hold my hand in front of me, watching as three identical blurry hands appear in front of me. I laughed, but it hurt. So I rested my head on the countertop, just closing my eyes and hoping that the oncoming headache will fade.

Man, I shouldn't have had all those shots...

* * *

I feel a hand shaking my shoulder. "Skye? Skye!"

Blinking my eyes open, I see an empty bar, and only Damon standing beside me. "Damon!" I say happily, wrapping my arms around him. "What time is it?"

He breathes a sigh of relief, gently rubbing my shoulders as I bury my face in his chest. "Where's Bree?"

"Who cares..." I mumble.

A door behind the bar opens and we hear her gasp.

Damon pulls himself away, walking over to where Bree stood quite terrified.

"We were just leaving," he says, "I just wanted to say goodbye."

"Good to see you again, Damon," Bree replies.

"No kiss?"

I can't help but let out a sigh, hopefully that went unnoticed...

However, Bree comes back with a very different response. "I'm full of vervain. I put it in everything I drink."

"And you're telling me this why?" Damon says, but the way he's acting is...he's upset. Closed off, but upset clearly. Man, how did I miss that?

"Lexi was my friend," Bree said, her voice breaking. "How could you?" She turns away only for Damon to appear in front of her in the blink of an eye. "The tomb can be opened!"

Damon pauses, only to start getting frustrated. "You're lying!"

"Emily's grimoire, her spellbook. If you know how she closed the tomb, the reversal process will be in that book. You can open that tomb!"

"And where is this book?"

"I-I-I-"

"You have no idea!" Damon sneers.

"No, I'm telling you the truth," Bree says quickly.

"And I believe you," Damon says, stroking a hand over her hair. "My dear, sweet Bree."

I sigh, and lay my head back on the counter, trying to stop the prickling feeling behind my eyes.

"That's why I'm almost sorry."

I hear Bree cry out in pain, and then a thud as her body falls to the ground. Then there's the sound of running water as Damon washes his hands.

A pair of hands gently shake my shoulders, helping me sit up. "Come on, Skye," he says, helping me stand.

"Do you reaally have to kill every single person you come into contact with?" I say quietly.

Damon rolls his eyes, moving us towards the door. "She tried to have me killed, and she was probably going to have you killed too."

"We don't know that for sure..."

"Yeah, well we weren't going to take that chance."

Despite the horrific act that came with that sweet comment, I smiled because that was perhaps the nicest thing he's ever said to me without even thinking about it.

* * *

**Wordcount: 8,989  
Proofread?: I mean, there's still probs gonna be mistakes**

**Hey! So, I did mean to get this chapter out a bit sooner than I did but it got a bit crazy this last week and wanted to post something half-decent at least. Anyway, mind to leave a cheeky wee review to let me know what you think! It's free!**

_Become an MVP today by leaving a review like the following MVPs!_

**Guest - **Thank you again for such a cool and well-written review! You literally have no idea how happy these reviews make me so thank you sm ^.^ And yes, pretty people indeed! I can't believe I need to have a chapter dedicated to Skye trying to convince Damon to go on ninja warrior now. Honestly, the whole birthmark thing is supposed to be confusing but I hope that doesn't make it unenjoyable to try and figure out! One day, in the future, all will be explained! I promise!

**PrincessMagic** \- Hi there! Thank you for leaving so many reviews! I'm so glad you're enjoying the story so far, and yeah, light-hearted is really where I thrive lol glad to know it's not just me that appreciates a light-hearted fic!


	16. Chapter 16 - 50's Decade Dance

**Ladies and gents, we've made some achievements since the last chapter. Not only have we managed to surpass 50 reviews, we have also gone past the 100k word count! I honestly wasn't sure how much I would write of this story but hey, here we are. I hope you stick with me throughout this, because yeah I kinda have an idea of where the story goes but I'm never 100% sure until I've written and posted it for you guys!**

**Anyway, enough trying to be cute, enjoy!**

* * *

The trip back to Mystic Falls wasn't something Skye remembered a lot of...yup, we've reached 3rd POV with a touch of 4th wall breaking, do you feel violated yet? This is the reason first-person POV was chosen for the majority of this story. Anyway, due to the drugs fed to her by the no longer living Bree, Skye's experience of the many hour journey back to Mystic Falls was broken down into a few short moments that occurred throughout the trip:

"What happened?"

"She's fine."

"Is she breathing?"

"Hey, keep her head up!"

"You're speeding!"

"Do you want to get home or not?"

"You missed the turn!"

"I did not, now stop backseat driving!"

It was pretty entertaining. Well, really only to Skye it was. Because in no time at all, at least to her, they were back in Mystic Falls, on the sofa inside the Salvatore boarding house to be precise.

* * *

Ah, what a lovely nap.

"What time is it?" I yawned, stretching my arms as I sat up. Facing me on the opposite sofa was a bleary-eyed Damon who sighed in relief.

"Finally, you're awake," he said, rubbing his eyes.

"That didn't answer anything."

"And you're absolutely fine, good to know," Damon said, getting to his feet.

I also got to my feet. "Hey - " And immediately started falling.

Thankfully, and embarrassingly, Damon managed to catch me before I decked it completely. I did my best to ignore the warm, cosy feeling that spread through me, blaming it on whatever caused me to pass out for who knows how long. Speaking of, if we're back in Mystic Falls it must have been a while.

"Be careful, dummy," he sighs, helping me back on the sofa, and sitting down beside me.

I don't think I've ever seen him look this exhausted. I can't tell if this is due to not sleeping in like at least 2 days, driving for hours on end, or everything that happened at Bree's bar. Do vampires need to sleep? And if so, how much? Could they really just sleep through a whole century on accident? Do they even sleep at all or is it just some comatose state they put themselves in where they're still conscious?

Despite these very important, very pressing questions, I'll hold off on them for now. "Are you okay?" I ask him.

A sigh, that's a no, no matter what he says next. "I'll live," Damon says, staring off at nothing in particular. "Things are just a little more...complicated now."

Oh no... "Complicated how?" I ask reluctantly. Complicated is bad, complicated means problems and stress, and Damon with problems and stress is not a good combination.

He shakes his head before turning his head to face me. He smiles, "I'll tell you once you're free of whatever Bree gave you. Did no one ever tell you to keep an eye on your drinks?"

I roll my eyes with a smile, leaning my head on his shoulder. "Hey, it all worked out...not bad."

"'Not bad.'"

"None of us died unless you killed Elena on the way back." In fact, where was Elena? Oh god, don't tell me he ditched her on the side of the road somewhere, she won't survive out there, alone in the wild.

Damon let out a short laugh, jostling my head slightly. "I was close, let me tell you. She isn't the worst company for a road trip but you couldn't have been conscious at all? Not even for like, an hour?"

"Sorry," I said sarcastically. "So, where is she now then? Somewhere in Mystic Falls, yes?"

"She's upstairs talking to Stefan."

Ah, that reminds me.

Again, I try to get to my feet managing perhaps a step and a half before Damon yanks me back to sit at his other side. "Nuh-uh! As much as I hate listening to their mushy, cutesy crap, I don't want you breaking something trying to climb the stairs."

"Aw, you do care."

He scoffs, "I care about getting blood on the rugs."

"Still cute," I teased half-heartedly. Settling back into the seat, using Damon as a makeshift cushion. He was pretty comfy, but there was the faint smell of... "Why do you smell of gasoline?"

"Some guy tried to set me on fire, it was fine."

"Some guy what?!" I sat forward in shock, staring at him in disbelief. "Is that why you...killed Bree?"

"Yup." Despite that casual tone, the defeated look in his eyes tells a different story.

I don't know if I'll get a proper answer, but I ask again anyway. "Are you sure you're okay?"

And it's like a switch back to the regular ole Damon that I've grown so used to. He leans forward and raises an eyebrow. "Why, you worried about me? Starting to care?"

I lean back, crossing my arms over my chest with a sigh. "You wish. Now, what are they saying?"

Damon looks genuinely surprised. "You want me to invade the lovebird's heart to heart?"

"Well, it's no fair if only you get to hear what's going on."

Even though I made a perfectly reasonable argument, Damon refused to tell me what was going on, instead offering me a lift home. And by offer, I mean, telling me I'm leaving this house with or without the lift. Unfortunately, the lift wasn't in the car. Something tells me he wanted to stretch his legs more than be kind. At least I got a heads up before being picked up and zoomed off.

It's easier to just close your eyes when moving at this speed, but I don't mind trying to keep them open at night. It's nice just watching the lights rush by, kind of like one of those photos you see taken above a busy highway at night. However, the mesmerising moment comes to an end all too soon, and before I know it I'm placed on my feet outside my quiet house.

"You sure you can make it up the stairs?" says Damon mockingly, seeing me hold onto the edge of the door as if my life depended on it.

Turning back to face him, I reassure him in the same tone of voice, "I'll be fine."

"You really don't want me in your house, huh," he says, crossing his arms over his chest. Raising an eyebrow, "Should I be offended?"

I roll my eyes in good nature. "Don't take it personal, Voldy. It's for your safety too."

"Mmhmm..."

"Goodnight, Damon," I said, stepping through the threshold.

"Goodnight, Skye," he replies, disappearing in a blink as I closed the door gently behind me.

Lights are off, house is quiet. School night, let's get to bed. I can already tell that tomorrow is going to be a very tiring day...

* * *

_A beautiful gown, worn by a beautiful woman. Staring in the mirror, gazing at her reflection, smoothing out the creases in her dress._

_A man appears behind her, wrapping a necklace around her neck, placing his hands on her hips._

_"Are you ready, dear?"  
_

_"Yes, let us go."_

_Dancing._

_A mirage of colours clashing against each other, woman spinning, making their skirts move with them. Men one after another grabbing hips, holding hands, until finally one's hands travel too far, hold on too tight and suddenly..._

_There's a massacre._

* * *

"Do you have to make a mess?" I ask Damon after only just managing to dodge another book that he threw from the shelf.

"It's more effective this way," he argues, dumping another book on the ground.

I groaned, scanning the titles of different potentially first edition books. Man, these must cost a fortune now, and here Damon is just yeeting them across the room like they're nothing! Enough is enough when I finally get smacked in the back by one of these expensive books. "Will you knock it off!?" I yell, flinging a book back at him.

Damon sighs in frustration before turning around with an obvious sarcastic smile. "Don't you have school?"

"I'm waiting on Stefan," I shrugged, turning back to the shelves.

"Ah, he'll be working on that hero hair of his," Damon says in a knowing manner, flinging another book to the floor, thankfully beside him and nowhere near me.

"Hero hair?" I laugh, giving him a look.

"Yeah," he says, pausing momentarily to try and fix his hair into some sort of quiff similar to Stefan's. "I will protect you, Elena, I won't Damon do any more bad things, and then we can live happily ever after." I snort at the impression, at how truly awful it was dear lord! You think after knowing someone for over one hundred years you'd be able to do a decent impression of them.

"You know," Stefan says, appearing in the doorway fixing his collar, "I can hear you."

"Sorry," I apologise, "Not my fault grumpy can't do an impression to save his life."

"Hey!"

"Grumpy?" Stefan repeats, raising an eyebrow. "Well, you got that right. He's been in a terrible mood ever since you guys got back from your road trip."

"Oh that's just horrible," I say dramatically.

"Stop talking about me as if I'm not here!"

Stefan moves to stand at the bookshelf in the middle of the room, casually looking at the titles. "Yeah, it's a shame he can't talk to me about it. I might even be able to help him."

Damon, clearly giving up and having had enough of our shenanigans, stops searching and dismantling the bookshelf he's standing at and turns to us with a very fake smile. "Aren't you two going to be late?"

I glance at Stefan, biting my lip to try not to laugh, glancing back at Damon to see he is not happy. It's probably best we leave him to it. It's all fun and games until Damon gets mad enough to go and kill somebody, and I'm not quite keen on that happening anytime soon.

"Sorry," I apologise for the second time in under five minutes, probably a record.

As I'm grabbing my bag from the sofa though, Stefan seems to keep on pressing buttons, even having the gall to say to Damon's face that the reason he must be upset is that Stefan gets to be with the person he loves and Damon doesn't and ouch, rude. Like, yeah, it's probably true but you don't go to say it, come on Stefan, have some tact!

"Stefan, come on, let's go," I instead say, waving goodbye to Damon from the doorway. "Bye Damon, have a good day!"

The car ride to school was a little more awkward than our previous journies, I will admit. Mainly because we haven't really talked properly since the whole Elena finding out she looks like Katherine, and that's she's adopted and everything and hey, that reminds me, I still need to tell Damon and Stefan I maybe knew Katherine in a past life.

But...would that be weird to bring up?

They'd probably want more details than I can give them as well, at least Damon probably will. He might even get upset since he's been kind of on edge lately with the comet coming up and still trying to figure out a way into the tomb. If we miss the comet then it'll be another hundred odd years until it comes back again.

God, the drama is insane. Plus, in terms of normal highschool drama, Caroline has been pestering me to help her with the upcoming decade's dance and demanding I have a bomb ass outfit. And don't even get me started on the dates she's trying to set me up on...

"Hey," Stefan suddenly says, breaking me from my thoughts. "Um, listen, I'm sorry for not telling Elena or you about the whole looking like Katherine thing sooner. I was trying to find the right time, but there never was. I wasn't trying to be shady, I promise I just - "

"It's alright now," I interrupt, feeling a weight lifting. "It happened, let's just move on, okay? You and Elena have worked through it, and are still happy together. Speaking of, you better show her some moves during the decade dance this week."

"Um, I don't think we're going," Stefan says, shaking his head.

My jaw drops. "What?! Don't let Caroline hear you say that, she will throw a fit."

He chuckles. "Just like when she finds out you cancelled on that date last week?"

"...how do you know about that?"

"Elena - "

"That traitor..." I sigh, leaning back in the chair. "Alex is...nice I guess but I've spoken to him like, twice, ever."

"How do you know you don't like him then?" Stefan says, raising an eyebrow.

I groan, sliding down in the chair. "Don't start, you're sounding like Caroline. I don't like his vibes, I just don't think we'd get along. And anyway, the last person I tried dating almost got me killed and then skipped town so I'm not exactly excited to be pushed back onto the playing field."

Stefan nodded his head sympathetically. "It happens to the best of us."

For the rest of the journey, we talked over general gossip from school, what each of us wrote for the homework we'd been assigned which then quickly prompted me to get my history homework out because I had written a few very historically inaccurate answer which had made Stefan laugh.

"Look, I didn't live through it! How do you even remember all this anyway?"

We reached school and parted ways at the entrance, heading to our individual lockers. On route to mine, I see none other than Tyler walking along, minding his business. And, of course, we can't have that.

Running the last few steps behind him, I jump onto his back, wrapping my arms around his neck and yanking him backwards. "Morning!"

"I hate you," he croaked in response, shaking me off him.

"Thank you again for covering for me," I said overly sweetly. He pretended to gag as we reached our lockers, dramatic boy. "What did you even say anyway?"

"I just said that you had some drama thing going on."

"Okay, but what did you say when it actually came to drama class?"

"Ugh, well, Dan actually covered you there, he said something about infirmary I think?" Tyler shrugged, closing his locker once he'd gotten his books.

Well, that's a surprise. "Oh, cool. That was nice of him."

When he starts to wiggle his shoulders though, that's when I know I'm in for in. Oh boy. "Has someone got a little crush on you, you think?"

Not falling for his antics this morning, I play along, flipping my hair in his face as I turned away. "Who doesn't, sweetie?" And off we walked towards our first class, him none the wiser than Dan is more likely than not gay and actually crushing on him. Oh Tyler, you naive boy.

* * *

Classes came and went, handing in homework, receiving more homework, the never-ending cycle continued. I spent break with Tyler, messing about on the basketball court and ultimately failing at a slam dunk despite climbing onto the bins and leaping. Lunchtime was spent with Caroline where she, surprise surprise, found out I had cancelled the date she had set up and was _not_ happy about it.

I scratched the back of my neck as her mini-rant came to an end. "Listen - "

"No, you listen!" Never mind, we're still going. "I worked hard finding just the person who was the complete opposite of Lana, and you decide to not even give him a chance? Are you kidding me?!"

"It's not that I don't appreciate it," I say quickly, raising my hands in defence. "It's just...I dunno, I don't think I'm ready yet. It's too soon."

Caroline sighs, leaning across the table and grabbing my hands, making me pause and stare at her. Um... "Skye, this is an intervention."

"An intervention?" I laughed, staring at her in disbelief. "Because I'm not dating anybody?"

"No," she says, rolling her eyes. "Because things ended badly with Lana, and now you're going into another bad situation with Damon!"

...Skye dot exe has stopped working.

I need a minute...

Okay.

I'm sorry...what?

I blinked at her, needing a moment to take in what it was she was suggesting. "Sorry, what are you suggesting?"

She rolls her eyes, "Stop trying to bone him! He's Elena's boyfriend's older brother, talk about gross."

"Hey, you actually dated him, he's your ex."

"That too! Stop breaking the girl code!"

"I'm not!" I insist, taking my hands back to cross them over my chest. "We're friends, we hang out sometimes, but nothing like that ever happens!"

Caroline sighs, shaking her head. "Oh, Skye...you always fall for the wrong people."

Instead of denying the fact, knowing it would drag this painful conversation on further, I instead give her a flirty smile, "What if I've fallen for you?"

She throws a fry at me and we erupt into giggles, the previous argument is thankfully forgotten...for now. Eventually, though, she wears me down and I agree to actually go on a date with Alex, just to prove to her that her theory about Damon and I was nothing more than that, a theory.

It's not much of a surprise then when, after school, where I'm there helping with the decorations for the decade dance that Caroline pairs up me and Alex to work together on one of the banners. Sometimes she's a bit too persistent for her own good.

"So, I heard from Caroline we're back on for our date?" Alex says, breaking the quite frankly awkward silence between us. "What was that about anyway?"

I laugh lightly, leaning over to grab more paint. "It's nothing personal, really, you seem like a nice guy and all I just wasn't sure I was ready after getting out of a pretty bad breakup." He really didn't seem like a bad guy, Caroline wouldn't have set me up with him if he was. He also wasn't bad to look at, and like Caroline said, the complete opposite of Lana.

Blonde hair, blue eyes, he wasn't even one of the athletes but still somehow managed to stay in shape which honestly wasn't fair. He was just under a head taller than me, not quite as tall as Damon but a good height.

"Yeah, Lana and her family left town pretty suddenly, huh. I'm sorry about that," he says, bringing me from my thoughts and to the task at hand. "Anyway, where is it you want to go for our date?"

"Did Caroline not plan that far?" I grinned.

"Apparently not, but I think there's only one decent place in Mystic Falls to go."

Ah yes, of course. "The Grill, how original."

We set up a time for meeting up, agreeing to keep things casual and to see who would win in a darts game. We've both had a lot of practice with our individual friend groups, and after we both claimed we were the best it's only natural that we would set up a mini-competition.

After we had finished painting our banner, Caroline now alone - where the hell did Matt go? - said we didn't have to do anything else to do.

After Alex had left, I turned to her, leaning on the table. "What happened, Care?"

"Nothing happened," she snapped, meaning something had most definitely happened.

"Care, come on," I whined. "Tell me, please? You never let people leave early, we usually have to sneak off - "

"You usually do what?"

"Hey, don't try and change the subject, where's Matt?"

Caroline sighs, stopping in her painting tracks. "Why do I always end up saying the wrong thing?"

I pick up the paintbrush Matt had left and listened to what had taken place between him. I talk things through with her, only now realising the financial situation Matt is in. I had never really thought about it before, but our friend group consisted of mostly founding families, probably due to our families influence, that was how Tyler and I had gotten so close anyway, so all of us were in pretty comfortable situations. It's easy to forget that not everyone has the same experiences as you...

Matt's mom isn't really around, and when she is I know my mom and Tyler's mom aren't exactly happy about it. And Vicki...god, I've forgotten about her. The fact no one knows the truth about her is just... It only then hits me that Matt's been in his house, on his own, for weeks now. Oh, Matt.

"Okay, well, that's enough for today," Caroline finally says, putting the paintbrush down with only a little bit of flourish and then wrapping her arms around me, successfully getting paint on me and ignoring my yells of pain! "Thank you for staying with me."

"Free me!"

"Skye!"

"Love you too," I laughed, finally hugging her back.

* * *

The Grill, the best establishment in Mystic Falls. There are other cafes, a couple of other restaurants, although they only usually stay for a few months, a couple of years at most. The Grill though is a constant in our little town, and so has, therefore, become the place for everything over the years.

However, after the night of Stefan's birthday where everything with Lexi...happened, it has been under new management. The old manager had been serving us young one's drinks for years and had finally gotten caught that night where Caroline had been drunk out of her mind.

This new management was a little different than the last though, a little bit more of an asshole...

"But we've been holding charity events here for the last year almost," I protest, staring at the guy behind the bar in dismay. "We've always tried to book a spot here once a month."

"Look," the man says with a sigh, placing the glass he was cleaning down. "You either have to pay more for a private venue, or you're gonna have to find somewhere else."

"But it's not a private event, it's an open charity event where - "

"Yeah, yeah, where everyone can come and donate to a good cause, I get it. Look, if you're not going to order anything, can I please get back to my job?"

Fuming, I decide to bite my lip and move on, snatching my phone from my pocket and sending a _very_ angry set of texts to one Caroline Forbes. She'll know what to do, how to deal with this. Old management always gave us and other charity events a discount for using the Grill for our events because it always brought in business and it was for a good cause, new management didn't seem to follow this line of thought.

Sitting up at the high chair area beside the dartboards where I had agreed to meet Alex, I didn't realise he was here until he was taking the seat in front of me, and waving a hand in front of my face. Kind blue eyes staring at me, he'd styled his hair a little differently with gel, and had dressed up a little more than I had in a shirt and jeans, keeping the top couple buttons undone to keep that casual look I assume.

"Oh," I said, finally looking up from my phone. "Sorry, I didn't see you there."

"Clearly," he grinned. "What's up?"

I rolled my eyes and immediately went into a rant that perhaps wasn't the best way to start a date.

"Come on, surely it isn't that big a deal," shrugs Alex once I'm done with my speech.

"It's not about how much of a deal it is, it's about them trying to exploit our good nature," I argue. "They get to keep the profits from any food and drink people order, so it isn't like they're losing money!"

"But what if people don't come when the event is on?"

"There'd be no reason to though.

"I don't."

I stop suddenly. "What?"

Alex once again shrugs like it's no big deal. "Yeah, I kind of avoid the Grill when any events are going on just because it always ends up being more expensive, and loud. It's such a hassle."

"I mean, sure you pay a little more to get in but it's going to a good cause, so it's worth it," I continue to argue, my hand gestures really coming into play now. "And you get the same food and drink you'd get any other day of the week."

He rolls his eyes. "The atmosphere isn't the same though. Look, do you want anything? A side of fries? I haven't had dinner yet and I'm starving."

I shook my head, "No thanks."

Unfortunately, the rest of the date didn't go so well either. I had excused myself to the bathroom to listen to the few voicemails Caroline had sent me, the bottom line being she would take care of it and she would get her mom involved somehow if it was the last thing she did. There were a few choice words and phrases I probably shouldn't repeat so we'll leave it at that.

On my way back though, I overhear Alex talking to one of the hockey guys by the pool table, and somehow I don't think we're going to get along much after tonight.

"I don't care that she's bi or whatever, but does she have to talk about it like it's her whole personality? God, let's just get through some fries first before you start lecturing me."

And, well, I don't really feel like staying after that.

It's then that I spot Damon walking away from Bonnie and the cute guy from the bar, I think he used to go to school with us or something. I follow Damon to the bar, only because I don't want to interrupt Bonnie getting her flirt on. Or, well, trying to get her flirt on.

"Hey," I greet, bumping his shoulder gently before taking the seat beside him. "What were you doing bothering Bonnie?"

"Why do you assume I'm bothering her?" Damon asks incredulously. I raise an eyebrow and he rolls his eyes. "I was trying to build bridges, not burn them, believe it or not. We do need a witch if we're to get into that tomb."

"And you think Bonnie will be able to help?"

"Not sure," he says, grabbing the bottle from behind the bar and pouring himself a drink. "But she and her grams are the only witches we've got going for us, so I'm going to play extra nice."

I grin at him, "Look at you, a changed man. I'm proud. No longer maiming or compelling, going the old fashioned route of being nice?"

Damon chuckles, putting the bottle back and finishing his drink in one go. He slams it on the counter before saying, "Don't get carried away."

Wait a second, that gives me an idea.

"So, wait, if you don't have all your morals back yet - "

"Who says they're coming back?"

" - would you be able to help me with this itty bitty issue?" I ask, pinching the air to indicate just how itty bitty the issue is. "You know since we're friends?"

I get a suspicious look in return. He raises an eyebrow, asking slowly, "What kind of issue?"

And before I can go on my mini-rant, this time without as much pent up anger, the new management man walks up, placing a hand on the counter in front of Damon and giving me a side glance. "No minors at the bar, and I expect you to pay for that drink you decided to serve yourself. What, were we not quick enough for you despite walking in only two minutes ago?"

Gently, trying not to draw too much attention, I nudge Damon. "This," I say quickly, side-eyeing the man.

Damon seems to get what I'm saying as he goes, "Ah..." Looking the man straight in the eye and telling him, "Stay there a sec." The man stays where he stands, not reacting much either way and just staring ahead. Damon turns to me, propping his arm on the bar. "So, what're we dealing with?"

I struggle to hold back a grin as I explain the situation to him, happy that he seems to be listening, and even happier when he turns to compel the man to keep the prices the same for events and to bring us a couple of drinks.

Maybe I'm getting a bit corrupt, but this guy was a dick! So, you know what, I'm okay with this.

"Thanks, Damon," I grinned happily, accepting the drink passed to me.

"To being not completely moral," says Damon, lifting his drink and clinking it with mine.

It's only as I'm finishing my sip do I see quite the angry boy coming towards us, well, me.

"Oh no..." I mumble, causing Damon to turn his head and see Alex storming over here.

"Who's the jock?" Damon asks, turning back around.

"What?" I ask, looking back at Damon, "Alex isn't a jock, he's - "

Here. He's here is what he is. "What couldn't even say goodbye, Skye? Some date you are."

I flinch slightly at that.

Damon raises an eyebrow, seeming to look Alex up and down.

"Hey, at least I don't bitch about you to my friends while on said date," I retort, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Yeah?" says Alex, copying my movement. "You just go find some older guy able to buy you drinks. Real classy."

"I can have friends outside of people you know, believe it or not," I glare, really getting pissed off not.

"Yeah, whatever," he says, walking away.

That...bitch!

Somehow Damon seems to know what I'm about to do next, either that or I'm just becoming more predictable because he grabs my arm and makes me sit still before I've even got to me feet properly.

"I can't have you starting a bar fight after having one drink," he says, leaning over the counter and pouring himself another. "Sheriff Forbes would never trust me again... Now, who was jock number 4? Are you collecting them?"

"Jock number 4?" I say, turning back in my seat. I shake my head. "He isn't a jock... And wait, who else are you calling jocks?" Okay, well, probably Tyler and Matt that's two, and they're more than enough, who's the third then? Either way! "You can't just go around calling people jocks, Damon!"

The rest of the night turned out to be quite enjoyable actually. Texted Bonnie to see how it went with the cute bartender, sent a quick message to Caroline basically apologising for messing it up and that she would hear it all tomorrow, and had no more alcoholic drinks with Damon, only one more soft drink while we talked plans for opening the tomb.

It was soon, like, really soon now. And we still needed to find the grimoire.

"So that's why you were trying to find some old diary," I realised.

Damon grinned, "Now you're catching on."

"You know, there are other founding families other than you dad," I say with a shrug. "Maybe one of their diaries have something in them indicating where it might be." His eyes practically light up, and it makes me happy. "After school tomorrow I'll dig through some old boxes in the attic and hopefully find something before the dance."

"You're going to that?"

"Yeah, I never got to live through it as you did."

"You might have done," shrugs Damon, and he's right, I probably did.

"Yeah," I say, lifting my drink. "Well, I don't remember it."

* * *

The next day I let Stefan know I'll make my own way to school, wanting to get a head start on looking through the attic. It was the school dance tonight, and there was no way I could be late to it or accidentally miss it without facing the wrath of Caroline. She still has to hear exactly what happened last night...

It was crowded and dusty in the attic, the only things that had been moved recently up here were an old half-broken, half-fixed chair, and a bunch of Christmas decorations. That and the few boxes which contained stuff we'd donated temporarily to that fundraiser thing at the Lockwoods... Ah. That's a good place to start actually.

Sneezing and not realising the time, I end up getting dropped off at school by my mom while she's dropping Kieron off, thankfully just making first period without being marked as late.

At lunch when I'm explaining to Caroline exactly how last night went down, boy drama and management drama and all, Tyler and Matt make their presence known by planting themselves beside each of us on the bench.

"Now why the hell were you going out on a date with Alex, of all people?" asked Tyler, getting pretty much straight to the point before munching on a sandwich he'd bought from the cafeteria.

I rolled my eyes, ignoring Matt's sniggers. "Care set it up, wasn't my idea."

"Hey," pouted Caroline, "I tried really hard to find you a nice, non-Lana person!"

Tyler scoffed, "You could have come and asked one of us, we would have told you straight away Alex was a jerk."

Caroline glances at Matt who shrugs in agreement. "It's true."

We sighed, moving off the topic of my tragic love life onto more menial things.

It does bother me though...where did Lana go? Was it all just an act and...will she come back? I hope the answer to that last one is no, but the other two I'd be curious enough to find out.

I ask Tyler once we're out of hearing range of dear Caroline if he's going to the dance tonight, to which I receive a big fat no. After asking a couple other friends what their plans were, I eventually get a plan for myself sorted consisting of tagging along with Elena and maybe Stefan if she can convince him to come along.

* * *

Later on that night, I'm knocking on the door to Elena's house, waving my mom goodbye as she drives away, waiting for someone to answer the door. I'm late, we've not got a lot of time left until Stefan is coming to pick us up. I say us, I mean Elena and then I'm tagging along. I'd accidentally spent a little more time up in the attic than I cared to admit, hopefully, the dusty look was in fashion back in the day.

Elena opens the door with a sigh, and I take in her outfit. "Hey, you look pretty good!" I grin, trying to diffuse the disappointment radiating off of her.

Unfortunately, these compliments never seem to work. "Come on, you haven't done any makeup yet?" she says.

"Hey, at least my hair is done," I pout, heading in and straight up the stairs.

We reach her room where we set to work with starting my makeup, getting it just right, and putting the finishing touches on her outfit. I had a spare belt which worked well for the occasion.

While the rest of my friends had opted for a more traditional style of the 50s, or as Stefan had said 'accurate', I went for going full Grease and had the perfect Pink Ladies jacket with a pair of 3/4 length cropped jeans. My mom had helped me with the hair, and my makeup was just about done thanks to some help from Elena.

I was checking the mirror when I heard a clicking noise coming from the bed. An old watch? Wait, that looks familiar...nah, surely not.

"Hey, Elena, what's with the watch?" I ask, watching as it starts ticking backwards and forwards faster and faster. I really hope this isn't the same vampire spotting watch I used before...

"What?" she says, coming out of the bathroom. Immediately, her eyes dart to the watch and she rushes for her phone. Oh god, why do I have a bad feeling about this?

I get to my feet with a sigh, following Elena to where she had rushed downstairs. As I'm coming down the stairs, something flashes in front of my eyes and I momentarily stop. That was weird.

"Stefan must be here, thanks," she says to whoever is on the other end of the phone.

The last few steps I take are slow and calculated as, despite Elena's relief, there is just one slight problem.

"Elena," I say, trying not to make eye contact with the figure hanging from her ceiling. I swallow nervously. She glances at me and without waiting before he can act, I grab her wrist and rush us out of the living room and towards the kitchen.

But as I'm moving, I feel her wrist slip from my grasp. Turning around I see the vampire's face as he's about to take a chomp out of Elena.

"No!" I scream, just as Stefan suddenly appears, yanking him off her and over the sofa.

The vampire rushes out through the back door before any of us can do anything else.

Quickly, Stefan wraps Elena up in his arms to comfort her, whispering to her that it's all okay. It almost feels like I'm intruding in on something, so I retreat myself back to the kitchen where I lean on the counter, taking a few well needed deep breaths.

It's fine, she's fine, I'm fine. We're all fine.

After counting for a minute, I take my phone out and start to phone up Damon, knowing we're going to need everyone we can get for this situation. A vampire has been invited in, he can come and go as he pleases, just like he did tonight. This isn't just something we can put off, this puts not just Elena but Jeremy and Jenna in constant danger. Sure, Jeremy is a punk kid but so are most kids. And Jenna is perhaps the best aunt on the planet, extremely undeserving of this.

In no time at all, Damon arrives and I feel a little more comfortable to enter the living room where the couple still sits close to each other for comfort. It's fine, I'm fine, we're all fine.

"How did he even get in?" Damon asks, pacing the floor.

"He was invited in," Elena explained shakily. "He posed as a pizza delivery guy the other night."

I crossed my arms over my chest and shrugged. "Points for creativity, I guess. So, what's the plan?"

"Did he say what he wanted?" Damon asks Elena.

"No, he was too busy trying to kill me," Elena snapped. Now, I would be offended that she left me out of this but it's true, he didn't pay me any mind at all.

Stefan turns to Damon. "Do you have any idea who this could be?"

"No," Damon said. Stefan gave him a very disbelieving look to which Damon rolled his eyes. "Don't look at me like that, I told you we had company."

"Also Stefan isn't that a bit rude, not all bad guys know each other," I said, trying to lighten the mood slightly. The look I got back from him suggested this wasn't the time to lighten anything.

Elena glances between Stefan and Damon quite fearfully. "You think there's more than one?"

Damon shrugs. "We don't know."

"But we do know that one of them has been invited in," I said seriously. I look between Stefan and Damon, turning to the older Salvatore to ask again, a little more seriously this time, "So, what's the plan?"

"Plan?" Elena says, acting a little bit slow, forgivable only because she almost died. "What do you mean plan?"

"Elana, he was invited in," Stefan says slowly, holding her hands in comfort. God, do they have to try and act cute even now? I can't, the sweetness is killing me. "We have to deal with him, tonight."

"The dance," Damon says, "We go, and if he's there we take him out."

All of us share a couple of glances, and eventually nod our heads in agreement. I guess we've got a plan. Not really a detailed plan but a plan none the less.

I follow Elena up the stairs so we can grab out things, tidying up a bit before we leave, mainly just to take a minute to calm down properly. One hug and a couple of reassurances later, we're heading back down the stairs and out the door.

The drive to school is kind of awkward, a little more tense than we were originally expecting. Stefan was driving, so Elena was sitting up in the shotgun seat, leaving Damon and me in the back. I had given Stefan my Grease soundtrack CD earlier in the week to try and get him in the mood to come to the dance, and while the songs were very cheerful and upbeat, it did not match the tone.

I hear Damon sigh beside me, making me glance over. "I assume the song choice is your doing?" he says, taking in the outfit.

"How could you tell?" I replied, trying not to let the events that occurred ruin the night. There's still a chance that it will be fun...not a good chance, but a chance is a chance. Yup, that sounds smart. "Here, you don't look very dressed up for this, what if they don't let you in?"

"I'm chaperoning," Damon scoffed. "I don't need to dress up."

"Mr Saltzman is," I mention

"So is Jenna," Elena says from the front seat.

"Jenna's coming? Awesome!"

We arrive at the school a few moments after, seeing other students all dressed up walking towards the front doors, all of them none the wiser about the potential danger they could be in.

It's fine, we'll be fine.

I can't help smiling and pointing out the posters I helped paint and hang up with Caroline as the four of us walked through the corridors. Making it to the gym hall and finding it totally transformed always makes me smile. Caroline is pretty amazing when it comes to putting all of this together...

Speaking of...

I part from our little group as Stefan and Damon start looking around and discussing tactics and approach Caroline and Bonnie who look all dolled up!

"Hey! Look at you guys!" I say once I'm in hearing distance, wrapping each of them in a quick hug. "You both look so cute! We need photos before the night is up." And before anything can go wrong because let's face it, it's bound to happen.

"Hey guys," says Elena, joining us finally, wonder what kept her. "Having fun?"

"No," Caroline said, making me snort. "But this," she indicates to her very well thought out outfit with a flourish, "took two hours, so I'm staying for at least half of that."

I nod my head understandably while Bonnie and Elena giggle. Bonnie's smile is quick to disappear when she spots who I can only assume is problem child number one over my shoulder.

"What the hell's Damon doing here?" she asks.

Trying not to be obvious, I glance behind us and see Damon and Stefan talking seriously, looking around at all the available exits to the gym, probably strategising. Knowing at least one of them has military experience is reassuring, to say the least. From what I've seen in my dreams, Damon is reliable in executing a plan.

"He wanted to come," Elena said, with a super believable excuse.

"So what is this now, some threesome?" Caroline asked in her very on-brand way, filled with tact. "Or is this some double date type thing? A foursome? Damn, impressive." I rolled my eyes at that quip.

"Hey, I'm dating Stefan and if I want things to go well with him then I need to get along with Damon or at least tolerate him," said Elena, unknowingly breaking up a fight before it had even started.

"Come on," says Bonnie, finishing her drink. "Let's get at least one lousy dance in."

She comes and grabs my hand, dragging me into the dance floor before I could even think up some half-assed excuse. Oh well... one dance won't hurt, the guy surely wouldn't attack in the middle of the dance floor anyway, too many witnesses. Right? Right! Let's get a boogey on!

Elena and Caroline join us not long after, and it's nice to try and replicate old timey dances, giggling and dancing with your friends. There may now be a video on Caroline's phone of my attempting the funky chicken, but listen, that's a future me problem...

As another song comes to an end, and I'm about to go to the punch stand where none other than Jeremy Gilbert is working, when I stumble slightly into someone's back and - oh, of course, it just has to be this asshole.

"Skye," says Alex, turning around. He'd slicked his hair back and stuck a comb in the back, and was wearing a T-birds jacket...suddenly I want to change. "Hey, hold up - " That's a no from me.

I try to push through the crowd and avoid him, but he's persistent and catches up to me immediately. I sigh. Let's get this over with. "What do you want, Alex?"

"Come on, let's have a dance."

I snort. "You're out of your mind."

"I'm serious, come on, let's forget the other night and just dance the night away," he says, shaking his hips.

I smile a pretty fake, tight-lipped smile. "I'm getting a drink so..."

"I'll come with you."

"Please, don't."

Grabbing my elbow and pulling me to a stop, he has the audacity to ask, "Why not?"

Rolling my eyes, I try and snatch my arm back. "Because you're a jerk, now let go."

Alex glares, yanking me closer and for the first time tonight I'm actually a little scared, and it's surprisingly not because of a homicidal vampire on the loose. "You ain't exactly peachy either, you know. Bitching and whining before I've even sat down, seriously? Who does that?"

"I'm sorry," I say quickly, hoping it'll get him to move on and leave me alone. God, how am I even supposed to help with the vampire problem if I'm stuck here with teenage drama problems! I need to deal with this, now and fast.

"So," Alex says, looking a little calmer now but not removing his grip. "Let's forget about the other night. Do you want to dance with me?"

Not really, but I nod my head anyway. It's weird because when he smiles it simply looks like the smile of a boy who just got the girl to dance with him, however, it doesn't make me feel less uneasy.

Unfortunately, this next song is a slow dance song. I suck it up though, like every time I was forced to dance with Tyler at all those fancy events, glancing over Alex's shoulder to try and find where everyone was, and if I could spot the mystery vampire.

For the most part, everything is fine, it's a normal dance, but subtly I feel hands travelling lower and lower...and I hate it here.

"Mind if I cut in?"

Both Alex and I turn our heads and see Damon with a pretty blonde girl from the year above with a red and white polka-dot dress on. Wow he looked good- I mean, she looked good, I mean, you know what? They both look good. In this lighting. Yup, Care did really well on the lighting in here.

"We're good, thanks," says Alex, glancing between the girl and Damon. And then recognition hits. "Wait a second, did you bring the bar guy to a school dance? Damn, Skye, you really went the full monty to try and make me jealous huh?"

"Alright, that's enough," Damon says, grabbing Alex's jaw and making him look him in the eye. "You're going to dance with this pretty blonde, you're not going to be a dick, and you're going to leave Skye alone from now on. Got it?"

"Got it," Alex repeated in a daze, blinking a couple of times before grabbing the girl's hand and leaving to dance somewhere else.

"...you just compelled him."

"Yup, you're welcome."

"I didn't thank you!"

"Well, you should. He was bothering you."

I rolled my eyes, huffing slightly, "That doesn't mean you automatically compel him!"

"You didn't have a problem with me doing it to the bar manager the other night." Shit, he's got me there. "Plus, it's not like I killed him! That was plan A, I opted for plan B for your benefit."

...well, when he puts it like that. I nod my head thoughtfully. "You know what? You're right. Baby steps, but you're right. Thank you for not killing another fellow student."

The song comes to an end and it's another slow one, Blue Moon from Grease!

"I love this song," I say, enjoying how it sounds in a room filled with kids dressed from the 50s, all slow dancing together.

"Well then..." Damon says, holding out his hand, "Would you like to dance?"

I don't even try to hold back my grin, taking his hand and allowing him to lead this dance.

"Are you gonna show off any moves you learnt from the 50s?" I ask, allowing myself to be twirled around and pulled back into Damon's chest.

"Only if you're lucky," Damon says in his very Damon way.

Shaking my head, we continue to dance. "Come on now, you know me, luck isn't exactly in my nature."

"Well, maybe the universe will give you a break..."

And for a second, I might have believed it, except out of nowhere Stefan appears, asking if we've seen Elena. Of course, we haven't, and now it's time to run through the school corridors again.

It's crazy how many times I've had to do it this year, we aren't even halfway through term yet!

"Skye, it might be best if you go back," Stefan says as we rush out into the darkened corridors. They always look so strange, considering the school is usually filled with fluorescent light. Hey, wait a minute -

"No way, Stefan," I huff, sliding only slightly as we turn a corner. "I'm not leaving my best friend to die in a school of all places, what an awful place to haunt!"

Mystery Gang style, we split up, because nothing bad ever happened to them when that happened, right?

I'm running around and searching each classroom that wasn't locked, even going as far to check the bathrooms and apologising to a couple of stoned out kids getting it on. They probably won't remember it...I hope I won't remember it either...

Thoroughly out of breath, and a serious stitch in my side, I don't look where I'm going and end up bumping into Alaric Saltzman of all people, oh man, I gotta pay more attention to my surroundings, this is getting out of hand!

"Oh, uh, hey, Skye," he says nervously, glancing behind him, holding his fists tightly at his side. "What're you doing all the way out here? Let's get you back to the gym hall."

"I mean, I was going to the bathroom and took a wrong turn, obviously," I said, hating myself for saying the word obviously and making this excuse way more suspicious than it needs to be. "But um...are you okay? You look kind of pale."

"I'm fine, come on now, let's go, quickly." He was acting...off.

And I think I find out exactly why when Damon rounds the corner and vampire speeds in front of him, his back towards me.

Alaric's eyes widen but he just smiles and nods at Damon. "Hey." Oh boi, he tried, it's a little hard playing dumb though when you're this far up shit creek.

"What were you doing?" Damon asks, definitely compelling him.

"Looking for Ms. Hilden," replies Alaric.

"Why are you in Mystic Falls?"

"To get a job as a teacher."

"Do you know what I am?"

"You're my student's brother."

"Is everything you're telling me the truth?"

"Yes," Alaric answers.

"Then forget we had this conversation," Damon finishes, grabbing my hand and moving us along.

I scowl as we walk along, glancing behind us to look back at Alaric. "I can't believe you compelled my history teacher..." I whisper.

"Hey, I haven't killed this one yet."

"You know, sometimes I think I've set the bar too low for you."

* * *

Elena was okay. Turns out this guy had threatened Jermey at the dance, forcing Elena to move away from everyone else without being able to ask for help. That stupid punk-ass kid didn't know how close he was to getting the snap. But everyone was okay.

Well, everyone but the vampire.

The gang decided on a side of torture tonight with their murder main meal plan, really making me wonder where on earth my morals are heading to if I don't even blink at that anymore.

I know he was bad, I know he was dangerous, we found out he was messing with Elena because she looked like Katherine, and he eventually would have killed her, he almost managed to tonight, but it doesn't stop me from wondering who he left behind...

He knew Katherine. And he was in Mystic Falls the same time as the comet was coming back around. Surely that isn't a coincidence. And I knew her in a past life or whatever, and I had died, been killed rather. I'm starting to wonder if we manage free Katherine if she'll remember me, or even know more about this birthmark and the people I should look out for.

Wow, I sound selfish...

The sky is clear tonight, making me wish I had brought a slightly thicker jacket. I wrap my arms around me for warmth knowing we were only just holding on to summer now. It feels nice walking home to be honest, a bit more normal than vampire running and a little less third-wheeling than grabbing a lift from the happy couple. It's peaceful, no cars, no real noise...just the sound of your shoes tapping against the pavement...so peaceful.

"You know, this way is so much slower."

And well, it would be a lot more peaceful if it weren't for this guy.

"You didn't have to walk me home," I tell Damon, stealing a glance up at him.

"You're right," he says, "but with one vampire found there's bound to be more."

"Aw, you do care. Admit it now, there's no use hiding it now!" I tease with a grin, ignoring the sour look that appears on his face. "Alright, I'll stop, but tell me, what did you and Stefan talk about?"

There's a brief pause. "He said he would help us find the grimoire and get Katherine out of the tomb."

I blink in shock because...well, that's unexpected. "That's a good thing though, that's really good actually since we've been struggling to find that journal of your dad's."

"I found it."

"What? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Well, correction, Stefan found it. Gave it to me tonight," he says, shrugging as if the discovery of the item we've been searching for for so long wasn't that big a deal. "There was nothing in it."

I sighed, "Damn...but, you know, there are other journals from founding families that weren't your dad's. I'm sure we've got stuff up in the attic, and if I find nothing there then I can try and find out if Tyler's family had any diaries."

"The jock is a founding family member?"

"Yeah, Lockwood?"

"Right," he says. "That would...actually be really helpful. Thanks, Skye."

"Don't thank me now, I haven't done anything yet..." I say, not sure if I'll find anything substantial that could help in our search. "She's lucky you know, to have you."

"She doesn't have me yet, still got to -"

"No, no, she does," I interrupt, stopping us in our tracks so I can the chance to look at perhaps one of the most selfless people I've ever met. "You've loved her, for what, almost 150 years now? You've dedicated basically you're entire vampire life to finding a way to get her out of this tomb, jumping through hoops and doing who knows what to save her. I don't think I know many people who could do what you've done."

Damon's mouth drops slightly, and his stare makes me look away, it's so intense. And I realise the weight of my words only after I've spoken them. I grin then, to hopefully diffuse any tension, nudging his arm with mine and moving along, humming one of the songs I heard from the dance but don't know the name of as we continue along.

We continue along in relative silence. Looking up at the sky, I try and make out some constellations, but I can only really point out the dipper, not sure if it's the big one or the little one...or is there only just one?

And then it hits me, because these are the things you only come to realise on a quiet night like this...this is probably one of the last days I'll spend with Damon. Like this, I mean.

Chances are I'll still spend time with him in groups, with Stefan and Elena and Katherine - man, that'll be weird having essentially two Elenas walking about, or would it be two Katherines seeing as she technically came first? Either way, something tells me Damon and I aren't going to have many nights like these spent on our own anymore.

But then again...whose to say that Damon and Katherine will stay in Mystic Falls? I mean, you spend a good hundred years under a tomb, dying, chances are you might want to travel and see what's changed in the world.

I bite my lip nervously. "Will you...leave here?" I ask, looking down at the cracks on the pavement, trying my best to avoid them. "You know, once you get Katherine back?"

"Probably," Damon replies almost sadly, "Stefan doesn't exactly want me hanging around...why, you gonna miss me?"

I chuckle, thinking about coming out with a usual retort of 'you wish' but then I remember this might be one of the last times I'll get to say it. "Yeah, I think I will... you'll keep in touch, right?" I hear Damon laugh and I get worried. "Not like every day, obviously, but at least a happy new year message, yeah?"

I feel him wrap an arm around my shoulder, pulling me into his side as we continue to walk. "Of course I'll keep in touch, can't get rid of me that easily," he says.

And for now, that's all I really need...

* * *

**Wordcount: dayuuum, 10,250 words!  
Proofread?: Pls, I read this so many times already I give, I give**

**So I accidentally took the month of July off, huh, sorry about that. Had a little bit of writers block, plus life got a bit in the way. I hope everyone reading this has been doing alright, staying safe and all that jazz! I promise the next chapter won't take as long, but hey...**

**Remember! Leaving a review is free and really helps provide them good vibes which helps speed up the writing process! PLUS! I always get a bit of a kick replying to them ^.^**

_Replying to them_

**LadyScatty - Thank you for your review! I'm glad you're enjoying it so far, and I hope you stick around!**

**Guest - Honestly, thank you for your rambling theory reviews! It's always a joy to read. I can tell you that nah, Bree just drugged Skye the old fashion way lol, not vervain issues here. As for when the Mikaelsons show up,,,boi, just you wait for the drama because that's when things will really get good. I hope you stick around to see it all kick off lmao.**


	17. Chapter 17 - The Grimoire

**The amount of new people who left reviews last chapter T.T y'all are all v cool and v sweet, thank you!**

**As for this chapter, again, time is a social construct, right? So if things end up a little whoopsie daisy then my bad. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

I'd said goodnight to Damon as we approached my house, the lights and the curtains were still open and I didn't exactly want my parents asking why I was walking home with some guy. It might actually make it worse that they probably know him from the council business and such...

The door shuts behind me gently, and I lock it knowing that no one else will be going out so late tonight.

"Hey, honey," Mom says from the kitchen, smiling at me as I approach. "How was the dance?"

I wrap my arms around her in a hug, surprising her maybe but not enough for her to ask questions. I always feel like I needed a hug from my mom after we deal with supernatural drama. "It was fine," I tell her, grabbing a seat at the table. "Alex is an even bigger jerk than before now, never gonna talk to him again."

"See these immature high school boys? They'll grow up someday. But honestly," she starts, and immediately I can tell where this is going, "I don't understand why you and Tyler don't give things a try, go on a date and just see what happens! Just the two of you, I mean."

"We go on dates quite a lot, according to you," I say, not doing very well in holding back the sarcasm. "We aren't like that Mom, although considering my recent dating life, I almost wish we were. Would make things way less complicated..."

She comes over, rubbing my shoulders gently. "Have you...heard from Lana?"

I sighed, picking some dirt from underneath my nails, not really wanting to answer that.

"Well," Mom says knowingly, "That answers that, then." I close my eyes to stop them from rolling, not wanting to get into an argument right before bed. "I haven't heard anything from the rest of her family either, no one has. I wonder where they went, they're not in trouble, hopefully."

Sometimes it's difficult listening to my parents talk about Lana and her family when they don't know what happened that night, what pain they had put me through. It's frustrating because it makes me think about her, wondering if everything between us was fake, or if after discussing things with her family it was decided that I'd be put down like some sick animal.

Either way, that night was terrifying and humiliating, and I hope to never experience anything like it ever again.

Although, not knowing where they went, if they've left for good or if they have gone to get more resources, more people, to try again in the future...it's unnerving.

I try not to think about it too much, focusing on the present over everything else, but I'm just afraid the past will catch up to me... as it has probably done in every other lifetime of mine.

"I'm going to bed," I say, getting up and kissing my mom on the cheek. "Good night."

"Night, sweetie."

I grab a bottle of water from the fridge, peeking my head into the living room to wish my dad a good night before heading up the stairs. While getting ready for bed, taking off all my makeup and removing all the bobby pins from my head, I sent a couple of texts to my friends.

Elena, I messaged to double-check how she was doing after tonight's events, she had gone through a bit more than me, actually witnessing the apparent torture and death of the vampire that had harassed her. I messaged Bonnie about how she and that guy from the bar were getting on, hearing from Caroline that they had gone to the Grill after ditching the dance.

I messaged Tyler about tonight's events, basically ranting to him about what an asshole Alex was, and that he and Matt were right all along. I may have also copy and pasted that very same rant to Caroline, only adding that she is no longer allowed to set me on any more dates after that disaster.

A few messages came back: Elena was fine, she actually felt pretty good all things considered, Bonnie happily informed me that she went and asked that guy out herself! Amazing! Caroline was very apologetic and promised to never set me up with a grade-A asshole every again, however, the wording makes me worry that she'll try this whole set up scheme again. And Tyler...well, he sent back his own rant which contained quite a few chosen words that my late grandmother would be horrified to hear.

Glad to know that everyone else's night went alright and that they were otherwise feeling pretty good, I got to sleep without much trouble.

* * *

_Hm, no trouble at all..._

_Wait. Aw crap, another one of these dreams? Give me Kiera Knightly, give me Orlando Bloom, give me pirates! I'm getting sick and tired of all these vampires, I swear._

_"Honey, can you help me with my dress?" a woman's voice calls from the next room over. I make my way out of what must have been the closet after putting away some very heavy, but very beautiful dresses, and you know what? This is fine, this dream is great, we don't need no pirates tonight._

_Nervously, I make my way over to where a blonde lady stands in the mirror, fixing her hair, completely fine with having her back exposed to a gentleman. I catch myself in the mirror briefly, a plain black suit and tie, dark eyes to match dark skin, hair cut short and a bruise forming underneath my left eye._

_"Dear?"_

_"I'm here," I reply quickly, coming up behind her to start strapping her into one contraption of a dress, dear lord, how did anyone get anything done with these things?_

_But despite my current confusion, my fingers seem to know the strings and tying it all together very well._

_Her voice breaks through any thoughts I was having, as she turns to face me, placing a gentle hand on my face. "You're hurt, who done this to you?"_

_"No one."_

_"You know not to lie to me, dear," she says with a sigh, "Please, tell me?" My silence seems to bring her sadness, although I see a glimmer of frustration too. "Fine, at least let me heal you, it won't look good for the dinner tonight."_

_"My lady, I'm...unsure about whether I should attend tonight," I seem to say, getting cut off as she bites into her wrist and forces it to my mouth. She's a vampire, clearly, does that mean I'm compelled if I'm this calm? She must trust me to some extent to do that so casually._

_"If my brothers can go out and bring whoever they wish, then so can I," she says confidently, placing her hands on my chest._

_"What if...they react badly. To me, I mean. I'm not exactly what they would hope as a suitor for with you."_

_"They might, but it will only be because I found you first."_

_"I do wish you'd stop being so cryptic, dear."_

_"I will," she says, pulling me closer into a hug, allowing me to rest my chin on the top of her head. "Tonight, I promise. Everything will be explained tonight..."_

* * *

"I swear, Skye, next time I see him I'm kicking his ass."

I smiled up at Tyler as he paced side to side, absolutely raging still apparently from last night. It's nice to know I'm cared about. "Ty, it's fine, I promise, nothing happened."

"Yeah, and nothing will happen again after I break his kneecaps."

This was going to take a while...might as well recap what today has been like so far!

I'd gotten up after that particular dream, even though it was early in the morning. It was vivid, so I know it must have been some sort of memory, and it wasn't exactly scary, nothing bad happened, but it left me feeling uneasy somehow...

Plus, it gave me plenty of time to get ready and continue searching for the journal which may or may not exist. I didn't want to risk raising any suspicion with my parents in searching for this one super-specific journal, so this was a solo mission on my part. After maybe an hour, I had managed to find a couple of old journals.

I couldn't remember the exact date or year that these events occurred in though, so I guess I had to take all of them to the boarding house.

And that's exactly what I did.

"You're up bright and early this morning," Damon said when I'd knocked on the door, looking more confused than anything else. Considering how much I sleep, the confusion is fair, even my dad was confused when he realised I was up before noon on the weekend.

"I've got some news concerning journal duty," I informed him, passing him the tote bag full of my families old musty journals as I walked by him to the kitchen, keen on some that coffee I can already smell.

"Sh!" he whispered, pointing upstairs when I gave him a weird look.

Raising an eyebrow I asked, "What?"

And then a mini game of charades took place, involving Damon acting as if he were a couple of teenagers madly in love to the point I could guess who was upstairs.

"You don't want the happy couple to know we might have a lead?" I asked, confused.

"Not yet at least, I don't fully trust them."

"Does this make me one of the bad guys now?"

"Not from my perspective," Damon said with a smirk far too sinister for this time of day. "Coffee?"

We spent a little while going over the journals, I now had the right dates from Damon and we easily narrowed the pile down to two journals. Hopefully, this will get us started at least. Because I was curious as well, Damon let me have his dad's journal to browse through.

"Why do you wanna read that anyway?" he'd asked, handing it over.

I shrugged, smiling, "I wanna see if you and Stefan are mentioned anywhere. See if you were as annoying as you are now."

"Haha, very funny," he said, rolling his eyes. I'm not even a page in when he proposed the idea... "...do you wanna go annoy them?"

Knowing exactly who he was referring to, and not wanting to get further onto Elena's bad side, I said, "Not really."

"Sure you do, come on."

I never had a choice really.

Just as Stefan, very adorably cuddling up to Elena I must add, said, "I could get used to this..." I felt almost bad as...well...

"Rise and shine, sleepyheads!" Damon said, flinging the door open and dragging me into the room along with him.

"Damon!"

"Get out!"

"Don't be so modest, if I see something I haven't seen before I'll throw a dollar at it."

He got a smack from me for that comment. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to be a part of this."

"Anyway," Damon said, "We have some very important business to get along with."

"And it has to be right now?" Elena quipped, very rightfully quite upset.

"Well, we have lots to do, now that we're all friends and working towards a common goal," Damon had replied, definitely not sounding like he believed this truce. To be fair, the glance Stefan and Elena had shared made me believe they didn't think too highly of this truce either.

After explaining what a grimoire was to Elena, she was put on journal duty for the Gilbert journal. Which lead to the question, "What about Skye? She's also a founding family member."

"I've been looking already," I admit, sharing a glance with Damon, the look he was giving basically saying not to reveal much else. "Still looking, to be honest. I'm going over to Tyler's today though to see if there's anything in his families library."

"That's...smart," Stefan said, almost reluctantly. The more time we spend discussing this journal business, the more I'm suspecting they don't actually want to help Damon get Katherine out of the tomb, and for the sake of keeping the peace, I'm opting to play oblivious to this fact and hopefully wait out the hostility.

And then Stefan brought up a good point. "What about our mystery vampire? Dimwit obviously wasn't working alone, so whoever's out there knows who we are."

"And I don't like that disadvantage, so," Damon said, smacking his hands together. "Chop, chop! Let's go, Skye!"

I rolled my eyes as I was lead out of the room I was forcefully dragged into not ten minutes ago.

"You know, I really like this menage a foursome thing we've got going on - "

"Stop."

Before I could give Damon a serious talking to about etiquette he probably should already know when it comes to interrupting couples in the early morning, he places a finger to my lips and for a minute skye dot exe stopped working, only to realise he was listening in on what they are saying after we had left.

And after all that, I left to go to Tyler's. Even he was shocked I showed up on time considering he was still in his pyjamas. After that recap, I think he's finally calmed down!

"So," I smile calmly, "Toast time?"

"Toast time," he agrees, nodding his head and leading the way to the kitchen.

Cheese on toast may in fact be the greatest gift to mankind, and no I will not take any criticism in that statement.

We make a small pile of toast, cheese and ham and even jam options, before sitting down at the kitchen counter to eat up.

"Have you spent much time with Matt lately?" I asked, peeling the crusts off my slice of toast.

"Not really, he's been working a lot lately," Tyler replies, practically hoovering up two slices at once. "Why?"

I shrugged, "I dunno, it's been a while since we all hung out is all."

"He's got a girlfriend now, Skye, man has changed."

"Stop teasing him, he's happy," I say, flicking my crusts at him. "When is there some sports game on that we can all watch."

Tyler raises an eyebrow which means I'm about to get mocked. "Some sports game?"

"I watch them, I just don't keep up with them..." I shrug. "Just...set up a night where we're all free, can even have a few drinks, order something in, the works."

"Sounds good, I'll text him to see when he's off work."

"Good, now, be honest with me...has Caroline said anything else about setting me up with anyone?"

"...um."

"Damnit."

Future me problem...future me...

Or that's what I keep telling myself at least.

As Tyler goes to get changed and ready, I use the opportunity to go and snoop around the library. How come the Salvatores and Lockwoods get libraries but the Hamptons, Gilberts and Forbes get regular ole houses.

I shouldn't complain, but man I can be just a little jealous.

The Lockwood's own personal library isn't as grand as the one in the Salvatore boarding house, it is, however, a little easier to navigate and in no time at all I've found a whole section of journals. With the dates still fresh in my mind from this morning, I power through and try to find any within that time.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like there is a journal of an old Lockwood. At least none that I can find.

I send a message to Damon first, letting him know that the Lockwoods were probably a bust and asking for any updates on the journals I'd handed to him earlier. I contemplate sending a message to Elena, and eventually give in because I refuse to believe we are on opposite sides just yet.

"Alright, I'm ready, let's get going!" Tyler says, jogging down the stairs.

"Can this be more of a walk than a jog?" I say, practically begging for my life.

"So long as I don't have to carry you, we can go any pace you want," he replies, grabbing his keys from the counter and heading towards the garage. It's been a while since either of us went on a journey to the lake, and there are always fun things to do there. With summer coming to a close, it's only a matter of time before it's too cold to do any of those things.

* * *

During my super duper fun day out with Tyler, our duet in the car gets interrupted by my phone ringing. Elena. Wonder what this is about.

"Hey, what's up?" I ask, shrugging at Tyler's raised eyebrow.

"Did you know Damon invited himself in for dinner? Be honest Skye." I hear Elena say.

"What? I've been out with Tyler all day, still am, technically. Say hey, Ty."

He rolls his eyes. "I'm not a dog, Skye."

"Okay, okay, sorry. It was just a shock to come home to was all," she sighs. I wonder why she's so stressed. "When are you going to be back? Wanna come round for dinner?"

"Um, we've only just kinda left the lake so go on and have fun without me," I say, also taking note of how dirty my clothes and hair had gotten during our mini-hike. "How's journal business been going?"

A pause, hesitation with Damon being nearby or because it's me asking? It's getting hard to tell these days. "Jeremy had used the journal in one of his reports. He lent it to Mr Saltzman, so Stefan has gone to ask him about it."

God, I hope the word 'ask' is literal in this case, we don't need another dead history teacher or any more torture in our school halls. School is traumatising enough with all of this added in.

"Well, hopefully, he finds something, anyway, I'll talk to you later. We need to get the gossip out of Bonnie."

"Oh yeah, her date is tonight!"

A couple of goodbyes, a grumble from Tyler later, and we're back to our carpool karaoke. Or at least, I thought we were.

"What was that all about?" Tyler asks, making me wonder how much I'm gonna have to lie about.

"Damon, Stefan's older brother, is looking for this old family heirloom thing and he's already checked his own family journals, no luck," I explained, technically not telling much of a lie.

"What is it he's looking for? Maybe my mom knows something about it," Tyler offers, "Hell, she might even have it on display somewhere."

At this point, I wouldn't be too surprised. It would be kind of fun to stage a full-on heist. God, I've been turned into a criminal... Oh well, it was bound to happen at some point in this economy.

"I don't really know, to be honest, another old book I think," I shrug, opening up my messages on my phone. "If we come to a dead-end, you'll be the first to know."

I send a quick text to Damon asking what on earth he thinks he's doing infiltrating the Gilbert household without Elena knowing, and then another one to Bonnie just to ask how it's going because I'm nosey and I can't help myself.

"So," oh no, don't like the sound of that. "What's the deal with you and this Damon guy?"

...oh god, Caroline's corrupted my boy. "What do you mean by that?"

"I dunno, but I do know you've been spending an awful lot of time with him," Tyler says. I get a side glance off him, combined with a wiggling of the shoulders. "You into older guys now?"

I don't usually when he's driving, but I smack him, probably causing myself more pain than him. "Shut it! You've been hanging around with Caroline too much."

"Hey, you know me, I don't really care. I'm hardly one to talk."

"Just because Miss Layne talks to you after class does not mean you have a chance, Ty!"

"Let me dream, Skye...let me dream..." he sighs blissfully, and for a moment I think I've managed to wiggle out of this conversation. Obviously not. "But seriously, I think I've only seen him a few times but hey, he's a pretty good looking guy."

"You're welcome to come out at any point, I'll never stop loving you for who you are."

"Shut it," he says, rolling his eyes. "So, you're avoiding answering any of my questions, how bad is it?"

I raise an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

"Oh boy, it must be bad!" he laughs.

"No! I just don't know what you mean!" I protest, shaking my hands in front of me.

"Come on, Skye, don't be blind to your own emotions... You like him a little bit at least, right?"

I take a minute to actually think that over, looking out the window of the moving vehicle and wondering how much damage would I take if I jumped out right now. And I guess maybe actually taking the time to go over how when we first met I did find him attractive enough to talk to at the bonfire, even to kiss without even knowing his name, to then having some buddy-flirty acquaintanceship to, well, all the vampire drama.

Can't really deny that we get along like a house on fire, in a good way, we work well together despite our differences...

And even though I'm fully committed to getting Katherine out of the tomb, my heart aches a little every time I think about him leaving with Elena's lookalike, probably forgetting how short human life is and forgetting all about me and I know life will move on eventually but...

Oh god, if I'm putting this much thought into it...

I slump back into my seat and sigh, "Fuck."

"And she's finally got there."

* * *

By the time we got home, it was so late that Tyler only stayed for a short dinner of leftover fajitas before heading home to get showered and changed. Kieron was happy enough to tell us both how dirty we looked, Mom more politely telling us to leave our shoes outside. Dad joked about whether we fell down a hill or not, not knowing we nearly almost did but neither of us was gonna bring up that potential fatality.

As soon as I'd cleared up, I headed upstairs to get showered and changed for bed. It had been a long day.

Considering my recent revelation in the car, I sent a reluctant text to Damon about how things were coming along before hopping in the shower.

When I checked to see the reply, it only said "_OUTSIDE_" so I can pretty much guess what that means.

Grabbing a hoody to have some defence against the cold outside, I opened my bedroom window and looked around the dark.

"Dameo, oh Dameo, where art for thou, Dameo?" I said quietly, filled heavily with sarcasm.

"Right here, Skyliet."

I turned to my right to see Damon had appeared on the edge of the window sill, usual smirk in place. I raise an eyebrow at him.

"What? I'm sorry, the names Skye and Juliet don't exactly blend well together."

"What're you doing here at this time?" I asked exasperated.

"To pick you up, of course," he said and wiggled my old family journal at me. "I know where the grimoire is."

That sounds positive! "Really? That's awesome! Where is it?"

"Buried with my father," he said, handing me the journal through the barrier still in place between us. "Are you ever going to invite me in?"

I take the journal from him and place it on my bedside table, "Only if you're lucky. And don't try changing the subject, are you saying you want to go graverobbing? At this time?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying. Chop, chop, get your shoes on."

"Dude, this is becoming more Scooby-Doo horror than you can imagine, can't we wait until tomorrow morning? When it's light?" I asked, hoping I wasn't gonna have to shower _again _after what I assume will be a good hours worth of digging in the mud.

"Nope, Stefan and Elena might have had another lead with the Gilbert journal," said Damon, and clapped his hands similar to how he had done it this morning while annoying the happy couple. "So, chop, chop!"

Rolling my eyes, I turn back indoors to grab a pair of socks and old trainers, not bothering to change out of my pyjama bottoms or hoody. "So wait, if you already had this information from the old Hampton journal why did you go bother Elena for the Gilbert journal earlier?"

"I hadn't read through the whole thing yet, and I wanted to keep an eye on them to see if I could trust them." I hear him sigh, taking a second to glance over to see him looking up at the sky. "I don't think I can...Elena lied to me."

I feel my phone buzz in the hoody pocket, but I ignore it.

I sighed, knowing that despite everything he's been through and the front he's put up that it must still suck to not be able to trust your own brother, your only living relative. I can't even imagine what that must feel like. "I'm sorry."

And then he's back, smirking as usual. "Don't be, I found out who else is keen to get the tomb open, I'll tell you about that later. Plus, once I have Katherine back I don't really care whether or not Stefan trusts me. Now - "

"I know, I know," I said, rolling my eyes. "Chop, chop, whatever."

Quickly, I finish tying up my shoes and turning the light in my room off. I walk towards the window and slip out beside Damon. Now my beating heart? That is _definitely_ the being a little afraid of heights because wow, you don't realise how tall your house is until you're sitting on the windowsill.

Damon wraps an arm around me as I turn to close the window behind me, leaving it slightly ajar for later. After giving him a nod, I feel myself being lifted through the air and then the rush through the woods.

I don't think I'll ever get tired of this feeling. It's almost a shame to think it might never happen again. So I take the time to embrace it, remembering what it feels like to be held securely, feeling and seeing the world move by at an incredible speed.

And then the adrenaline rush you feel after as your body eventually catches up.

Damon places me to my feet and it then occurs to me.

"Do we have anything to dig with?"

"Let's find the place first, then we'll worry about the digging part," he said, walking towards where the remnants of an old house once stood. I wonder...is this his old house?

Before I can even think to ask, we see light...fire to be more specific.

And two figures leaning over a big old dirty book.

Stefan. Elena. The grimoire, I assume.

"Well, well, well," Damon sais loudly, announcing our presence and making me question whether I really have become one of the bad guys. "What are you two doing here?"

And in a moment of panic...

"I texted Elena!" I said quickly, making whatever it was Stefan was about to say redundant. All eyes turned to me. Stefan in confusion, Elena in realisation and Damon...god, is that betrayal? "While I was getting ready, I messaged saying to come help. I didn't exactly want to get all muddy again, ya know."

"Yeah!" Elena said, thankfully backing me up, and drawing the attention back to her. "We've not been here that long, it's lucky the coffin wasn't buried that deep, right Stefan?"

Stefan, reluctantly it seems, agrees, nodding.

"Great job though, guys," I say, walking over to Stefan and extending my hand for the book. Hopefully, he can tell how desperate I am to keep the peace. "Can we have the grimoire then?"

Even more reluctantly it seems, Stefan passes the grimoire into my hands, only to then take it out a second later.

"No."

"Stefan," I say in a warning tone. Come on, don't do it, man.

He gets out of the literal hole he's dug himself into and faces Damon. "No, I can't let you have her back, Damon."

"And why the hell not, Stefan? Can only you be happy?" Damon retorts, sneering at him.

And that's when I snatch the grimoire from Stefan, using the fact he was an inch away from the hole to push him off balance and back into the hole.

I quickly turn around and pass it to Damon who all but snatches it from me without a thank you.

God, why do I feel like I've managed to piss off everybody while trying to keep the peace, this is specifically why I don't try and keep the peace, damnit!

"You know," Damon said, speaking to me for the first time we got here. "Out of everyone in this damn town, I thought I could at least trust you."

I blinked, not liking the way he was talking. "You can trust me, Damon...look, we've got the grimoire we're one step closer to - "

"_We_ are not one step closer to anything," he snapped, making me take a step back, not used to this. "This is never an _us_ issue, you gain nothing getting Katherine out of the tomb! I half bet you've been working with these two the whole time.

"What?" I say in shock, not sure what else to say.

"God, you had me fooled, Skye."

"I didn't! I'm not trying to fool anyone!" I yell, feeling my eyes start to sting. "I'm trying to keep the peace, damnit! I hate being in the middle of this conflict, but I want to help you, Damon!"

"Bullshit!" he yells, swinging an arm making me take another step back. "I can't rely on anybody but myself, it seems. Screw you."

And that's it, I've had enough. "Know what, screw you, Damon! I've done _everything_ in my power to help you these past few weeks! I was coming out at god knows what time to help dig up a god damn grave! And you think that was what, all an act?" I hate my voice cracking as I yell again, "Screw you!"

Turning around, I stomp away towards where I can see Elena has parked the car, jumping into the backseat and letting out a sob, desperately trying to stop myself from full-on crying. Screw this, screw him, screw this!

A few minutes later the front doors to the car open and Elena and Stefan jump in.

"Are you okay, Skye?" Elena asks reluctantly.

Wiping away any remanents of tears, I turn to look out the window. "Can Stefan give me a lift up to my window? I'm locked out."

Stefan nods, "Sure thing."

I sighed, closing my eyes as Elena starts the car. I really messed up tonight, huh...damnit.

* * *

**Wordcount: 5,380  
Proofread: yee boiz!**

**And I oop, only a touch of drama. I hope I played things out realistic enough. If not, well, it's fanfiction so. I hope you enjoyed the shenanigans none the less! Had a bit more Tyler in this chapter, missed that boy.**

**Next chapter is the big tomb reveal! Exciting times ahead so...**

**Leave a cheeky wee review! Takes 2 seconds but gives me serotonin for dayyyys**

_I reply to you lovely people_

**LadyScatty - Plot twist, the birthmark is actually a honing-in device that attracts absolute psychos, supernatural or not. I'm kidding, but rip Skye's love life huh. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter tho! Thank you sm for reviewing!**

**kit - I'm glad Skye being bi made you happy! I figured well, why not leave all options open:) Thank you so much for leaving such a lovely review! It makes me happy knowing folk like you are enjoying the plot I've come up with. I really do hope you stick around for the twists I have planned for when future characters show up!**

**Tihiroro - Omg already rooting for the hybrid boi, and he hasn't even appeared yet! I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far and stick around to see what goes down with Klaus and co. Thank you for reviewing lovely!**

**Guest - haha, Alex probably deserved a good punch. As for Damon and Skye's camaraderie, there's um...been a slight hiccup. They'll sort it out, probably. Ah! I don't wanna give much else away, but as always, thank you some much for leaving such an awesome review! And I hope you're taking care of yourself throughout all this too**


	18. Chapter 18 - Duke's Party

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* * *

I never did hear back from Bonnie about her date I realised once I was settled in bed that night. I grabbed my phone from the bedside table to check to see if I'd missed anything from her. Nope. Just that message I didn't bother to read about how Elena and Stefan were digging up that damn grave.

Sighing, I let the phone drop beside me. If I'd just read that text when it first came through then maybe, just maybe, none of that would have happened, Damon and I wouldn't be pissed off at each other.

But then again, they probably would have gotten rid of the grimoire...and that would have been Damon's last chance at getting Katherine back for like another century. Maybe forever.

God, this sucks, this whole situation sucks.

Rolling over, I opt to try and sleep this whole thing off.

* * *

_"Marriage?" a girl perhaps only a year younger than I asked._

_"You are of age now," what appeared to be her mother told her, brushing a hand through her hair as she removed the braids in her hair. "Plus, we have had a few offers already. One from a certain family you seem to like spending a lot of time with..."_

_The girl turned her head away, clearly trying to hide a blush. "I have no idea what you are talking about."_

_"Don't play coy," her mother teased, "I know you walk the long route back just so you can spend a few more minutes with them."_

_The girl bit her lip, realising she may not have been as discrete as she once thought._

_"Your father and I will take into consideration the other offers, of course, we don't want to play favourites," her mother continued, "But it would be nice for you to be accepted into such a well off family."_

_"Yes...of course."_

_"Anyway, let's tidy up a bit before the boys come back."_

* * *

Waking up calm and well-rested is always nice, a lovely change from other nights. These dreams always make me want to go back to sleep though, to simpler times where I seem to have no troubles. Well, I'm sure it's not true, but at least the troubles are different from the ones I have to deal with now.

Rolling over in bed, I see the tuff of head and the sound of button smashing.

Confused, I pull off the covers and see Kieron playing away on the Gameboy, Mario I think.

"Morning," he said, not taking his eyes off the screen.

I blinked, taking a breath to reply something along the lines of get out, what are you doing in here, but end up just sighing and yanking the covers back over us. "Morning."

"Your phone ran out of charge, by the way."

Narrowing my eyes, I asked, "And how would you know that?"

"I was texting Tyler."

"You were what?!"

"He wants to meet at the Grill later to wait for Matt to get off work," Kieron continues as if it's perfectly normal and appropriate. "Some guy Duke has a party tonight, can I come?"

"What?" I say, shocked. "No, it's not for kids, what time did Tyler want to meet at?"

"Why not?" he pouts, finally turning to look at me.

I rolled my eyes, "What time?"

He shrugged, "One, I think. Said he would come to pick up."

Leaning back to check the clock on the bedside table, I gape at it before jumping out of bed and rushing to my closet to grab clothes. "Get out! I'm late!"

"Not my fault you didn't set an alarm..."

"Kieron! Out!"

"Fine, I'm going, I'm going. Jeez, woman."

I take a deep breath as he closes the door behind him, only slightly stressed. Tyler is used to me being late, so this isn't going to be much difference I guess.

Thankfully, by the time I hear the door knocking downstairs, I've managed to brush my teeth, get changed and put on the minimalist amount of make-up. If Caroline catches me before tonight, she might help me put more on but that'll do for now.

As it's getting colder, I grab my bomber style jacket and shove my bobble hat in the pocket for later. I grab some money, and my phone only to curse that it's out of charge. Do I bother bringing a charger with me?

"Skye?" I hear my mom call from downstairs. "That's Tyler here!"

"Just a second!" I call back, thinking I might as well try and charge it while I'm at the Grill, even if it's so I can let my mom know I'm okay later.

I quickly tie my hair up in a ponytail, noting how long it'll take to make it look semi-presentable with how messy it is. Should have blowdried it, shouldn't have slept with wet hair, again.

Rushing down the stairs, I grin at Tyler as he desperately tries to keep up with three conversations at once. Dad always likes talking to him about the football, not quite having gotten Kieron addicted to it, Mom is her usual trying to play matchmaker self, and Kieron is well. Kieron.

"Okay, we're off," I say, giving my mom a kiss on the cheek.

"Can I come?" Kieron asks Tyler, hanging onto his leg. "Please? Skye says no but you're in charge!"

"Hey!"

"Sorry, bud, not this time," Tyler replies, ruffling Kieron's hair in an attempt to stop him pouting.

"Will you be back late?" Mom asks me.

"Probably," I reply, still unsure of the plan. "I'll let you know if I'm staying over at Caroline's or Tyler's or...wherever."

"You better," she says, squeezing my arm gently. Yup, better keep in touch this time. Or else I'm really in trouble.

We say a few goodbyes before finally escaping to the car with a sigh.

Tyler turns to me with a grin. "So, did Kieron - "

"He told me you two were texting," I said, rolling my eyes. "I've got to be careful with what I keep on that phone, man. He keeps managing to guess my passwords!"

"Don't make them so obvious then, simple."

"They're not obvious!"

"2 5 8 0."

"...whatever."

* * *

Tyler and I make it to the Grill just after the rush hour it seems, however it is still a little busy. We sit up beside the pool tables, next to the wall where I'm able to charge my phone and we'll easily be able to grab a pool table once it becomes free.

Matt comes over to chat for a bit and takes our order for food straight in, laughing at the shenanigans we tell him of this morning. Our food comes back with a different server, and we eat in comfortable silence for a while. Both of us, very hungry and not caring to keep up a conversation.

Once we're done, and my phone has sufficient enough charge on it, we move over to the pool tables to set up a game where Tyler, of course, is trying to sell Duke's party.

"Dude, it's ten kegs, you know how much damage we could do with ten kegs?" Tyler says, clearly excited. "Duke's got it all hooked up."

"Duke's a douche," Matt says, not amused.

"A douche with ten kegs," Tyler replies. "AKA, my new best friend."

I smack his arm with the cue stick, making him yelp and one Jeremy Gilbert snort from the sidelines, looking over notes and books. He's really cracked down on his studies since...everything.

"What's the problem, Gilbert?" asks Tyler, ever so friendly.

"Don't have one, Lockwood."

"The problem is don't let Kieron hear you ditching his best friend status for some douche," I interrupt, not wanting these two to have another tiff in the middle of the Grill of all places. If we get barred from here then where the hell will we ever go again?

"You ever get bored of it?" Matt then asks him.

"Bored of what?" says Tyler as he's chalking up.

"Yourself."

"Oh!" I laugh as Matt walks off, gently punching Tyler on the back.

"Keep laughing, I'm kicking your ass in this."

"That's not an achievement and you know it."

From the corner of my eye, I see the one and only Caroline Forbes come in, looking as lovely as ever. She heads straight for Jeremy however, a woman on a mission indeed it seems

And because it's Caroline, we can hear her well enough from our short distance away.

"Where is Elena? I have been texting her, Bonnie and Skye all day about Duke's party," I hear her say, "I swear, I'm not going to be one of those girls who just ditches her friends because of some guy."

"Um, Elena's somewhere with Stefan I think, and Skye is right behind you," Jeremy says.

Caroline turns around and I wave, only feeling slightly in danger.

Tyler leans down slightly and whispers, "Do you need to run?"

"Not yet," I whisper back, grabbing the cue from him to take my shot. "But let's monitor the situation for now."

"Roger that."

Over the course of the next approximately 5 to 10 minutes, Tyler and I not very discreetly watched our dear friends interact, unfortunately not able to hear them from the distance now. Matt occasionally kept glancing over Caroline's shoulder as they spoke though, which of course made her turn to see what was going on and may have caught Tyler and I staring.

After their conversation though, which I hope was a good one, Matt goes back to work and Caroline makes her way over to us.

"Get ready," Tyler warns me, handing me the cue stick. "Use this, I'll fend her off for as long as I can!"

"I'm gonna need longer than 10 seconds, Ty!"

"Hey!" Caroline said, now beside us.

Jokingly, Tyler and I held onto each other for dear life, terrified. "She's here!"

Not amused, she crossed her arms over her chest. "What are you two doing?"

"Nothing," we lied in unison.

She then turned to me and raised an expectant eyebrow. "Why haven't you been answering your phone? Have you guys been ignoring me?"

I hold my phone up to show that it's only got a small amount of charge in it. "It died last night, I woke up late and didn't have time to charge it before leaving the house. I'm sorry... If it makes you feel any better, I haven't heard from Bonnie or Elena since last night either."

"Where are they?" she sighs, clearly frustrated. "You know, they always try to exclude me! If it weren't for you, I don't know if we'd still be friends."

"I'm uh...gonna go get a drink," Tyler said, promptly excusing himself.

Sighing at his quick exit, I wrap my arms around Caroline and give her a good hug. "I'm sure that's not true. Caroline Forbes, you are the most amazing person I know, and once you realise that the world is not going to be able to contain handle your greatness! Now, can you help me with my make-up later?"

"Of course," she says, pulling away with a smile. "And thanks, Skye."

"Do you want a game of pool?"

"Calm down, I don't need that much of a confidence boost."

* * *

Caroline, Tyler and I hung out at the Grill until Matt was finished work where we then headed towards Matt's house, mainly so he could shower and change before we went to the party.

Finally able to check my phone properly after charging it on and off for the past couple of hours, I see a flurry of texts from none other than Stefan.

Ignoring Caroline and Tyler's bickering from Matt's kitchen, I listen to some of the voice messages he sent me only a few hours ago.

_"Skye, please pick up, have you seen Elena? Anna's taken her and I'm worried. Call me, please."  
__"Hey, me again, I know you and Damon had a bit of a fight last night but is there any chance you can convince him to tell me where Anna is keeping Elena? Please. I've not been able to contact Bonnie either and I'm getting worried."  
"Hey Skye, let me know you're alright. I managed to find Elena and Bonnie, they're alright. We're heading to Bonnie's Grams' house now."_

And just as I'm finishing the last voice message, my phone rings.

"Popular today, are we?" Tyler calls, interrupting his own argument with Caroline, meaning he's probably losing with whatever it is they're talking about.

"Pipe down and let me see what Stefan wants," I replied before putting the phone to my ear. "Hey, Stefan, I just listened to your voicemails the now."

_"So you're alright?"_

"Yeah, I'm fine. My phone has been dead most of the day. What the hell did you mean by you managed to find Elena and Bonnie though? Where were they?" I asked, trying to be quiet so the other two wouldn't try and eavesdrop. They may have their differences, but being nosey wasn't one of them.

_"Anna had taken them for the ritual, she knew that Bonnie would open the tomb to protect Elena,"_ he explained.

"Wow, wow, wow, who the hell is Anna?" I asked, unable to remember if I've met this one before.

_"She's the other vampire in town that was after the journal. She's been spending a lot of time with Jeremy too."_

I realised though that a lot of this still didn't make sense. "Wait, but why does she want Katherine out of the tomb? Were they friends?"

I hear him scoff from the other end of the phone, answering that question quite easily. _"Hardly. There were other vampires that were trapped in the tomb that night. Anna's mother was one of them."_

That revelation made me stop. Her mom is in the tomb, she's been separated from her mom for so long... I guess I can understand why she went to such extremes.

"Well," I say, forcing myself back to the present. "Honestly, despite everything I'm still on the side of getting that damn tomb open. When is the comet again? Tomorrow right?"

_"Tonight."_

"Tonight?!" I accidentally yell, quickly turning to see both Tyler and Caroline's shocked expressions. I awkwardly wave and walk further through Matt's house, further away from where they can eavesdrop. "Stefan, Duke's party is tonight. In the woods. Near the cemetery bit. Where everything is going to be kicking off."

_"You're kidding..."_ I hear him sigh.

"I wish," I reply, rubbing the back of my neck gently. "So, are you guys still gonna try and stop a girl from having her mother, a man saving the woman he loves? The sides are both quite morally grey at this point."

_"No,"_ Stefan says, surprising me, to be honest. _"However,"_ oh no... "_despite us wanting to help, there's no way Damon trusts either of us now, and to stop him from doing anything irrational, we were hoping maybe you could speak to him..."_

Sighing, I look up to hopefully have some deity give me strength. "I haven't heard from Damon since last night, and I don't really want to speak to him right now."

"_Skye - "_

"You know, maybe it's for the best we leave it on bad terms," I continue, not sure I fully believe what I'm saying. "Maybe it'll be easier for me to see him go... Is it ever easier, Stefan?"

The silence on the other line makes me wonder whether my phone has ran out of battery again, but then I finally hear him say, _"No, it doesn't... So, you won't talk to him then?"_

"Sorry..."

_"Don't worry about it, we'll make it work. If you're going to this party tonight be careful, yeah?"_

"Will do. If anything drastic changes let me know, I also don't want a bunch of Voldemorts crashing Duke's party."

_"Voldemorts?"_

"I'll talk to you later, bye!" I say, shutting the call off with a sigh.

It's then I notice Caroline peaking from around the corner. Arms folded over her chest, she raises an eyebrow at me. "Voldemorts?"

"Yeah," I say, walking back towards her. "I know you invited Jeremy to this party, but I don't want there to be just children showing up to this."

"He is hardly a child now!"

"He's a big baby," Tyler agrees, not turning around from watching some football rerun on TV.

"Whatever," Caroline said, turning back to face me. "Was that Stefan? What happened with Bonnie and Elena?"

"Um," I say, strong start, "Bonnie's gram was a little ill last night I think, and Elena was helping out. That's why they haven't been on their phones all day."

Caroline gasps and actually looks really concerned. God, of course, she would be, Sheila is always lovely to us and Bonnie loves her and why did I lie about something so awful! "Oh my gosh, is she okay?"

I nod my head quickly to reassure her. "Yeah, yeah, I think so. Stefan was telling me he was just taking them home from the hospital now. Don't worry too much, come on, let's see if Matt's finished doing his hair, I swear, he spends longer on it than you do."

* * *

We have a quick couple of drinks at Matt's house, some snacks too, once he finally comes down the stairs ready. Caroline helped me put on a little more makeup too while we waited, thankfully before the drinks came out.

The four of us mainly walked to our destination, quite easily able to find where the party was from the music, the noise, the fire, and the mass of people already here. People's cars were parked left right and centre, no order to it anywhere. Everyone was bundled up to keep warm from the cold, truly making me realise that summer was gone.

Shivering, I shove my hat on my head, glad I brought it with me. Looking up at the sky, I do my best to try and ignore what will be happening soon, maybe even happening right now...

Tyler claps his hands together. "Right," he says, smirking knowingly, "Drinks?"

"You know it," I grin, eagerly following him into the crowd of people, ready to forget the night away.

I end up bumping into a bunch of people from my drama class, and of course, Tyler unable to remove himself from his jock stereotype continues on towards the drink section. Wow, can't believe he ditched me for Duke the douche.

Either way, I ended up having fun for what felt like the first time in a while without anything supernatural happening. Well, nothing I was involving myself in, anyway.

Everything was going fine until Caroline appeared beside me, grabbing my arm. Perhaps a little tipsy on my part, I turn to her with a look, and she just groans, dragging me up and away to a more secluded part of the forest. Thankfully still plenty of folk around. I do not want to get munched on while drunk.

Wait, if a vampire drinks a human with alcohol in their system will that get them drunk? This is something I'm gonna need to ask Damon next time I...never mind.

"Care, what's up?" I ask, leaning back against the tree behind me. I smile at her. "You're so pretty."

"Get your head in the game, Skye, I messed up, big time," she stresses, making me try and be a bit more serious. Oh god, what has she done? "I was super lame, you're not gonna believe!"

And despite her troubles, I'm just glad I'm dealing with teenage drama rather than supernatural drama right about now.

"I just had to try and shove Matt and I's brand new, still kind of rocky relationship in front of Elena! Uh! And worse of, Damon saw it too, god he was such a dick."

I perked up, "You seen them here? Together?"

She nodded her head. "Yeah, he dragged her off somewhere. I haven't seen them since, nor Stefan and Bonnie I might add. But well, I guess Bonnie might not want to come tonight, that's fair..." Caroline said, trailing off a bit into a mumble at the end. "Just...I've thought of a speech, can you listen to it before I say it to Matt?"

I smile, "Of course."

"...do you think he'll forgive me?" she asks after, biting her lip nervously.

"Yeah," I say, honestly. "I think he will. Come on, let's go find him."

We link arms and go forth with our mission.

"So..." she starts, and I know I'm in trouble in some way shape or form. "How are things going between you and...you know, Damon?"

I sighed, definitely not wanting to be having this conversation right now. "Things aren't going anywhere in fact...we had a fight..."

"About what?"

"About...trust, I guess," I shrugged, not sure how to remove the vampire part of this discussion. "He and Stefan have a really rocky relationship, and I think that really affects his relationships with other people. He thought I had in some way betrayed him, when I hadn't and just...we yelled at each other, it wasn't nice."

Caroline gently rubs my arm in a comforting manner. "When was this?"

"Last night...and I only really realised that day that maybe you were right...maybe I do kind of...maybe, just maybe...like him..."

"I knew it!"

"No need to sound so happy about it..."

"It's okay, Skye," Caroline says, gently, "You are amazing, and if he can't realise that then he wouldn't deserve you. You'll find someone who will love you and care for you the way you deserve, and they will be worth the wait."

I sighed. "I didn't have my heart broken, Care."

"Not yet, anyway."

"Anyway! Let's find Matt!"

And for the next maybe fifteen minutes we walked about, giggling any time either one of us stumbled into the other, occasionally saying hi to folk we knew from school but not sticking around much longer to talk. We eventually see Matt in the distance, falling asleep against a tree, and then Tyler swooping in and stealing his drink.

I try to stifle my laughter as we approach, to spare him the embarrassment.

"Well," I announce, grabbing onto Tyler now, "We are clearly not drunk enough, let's get more drinks."

"Hey-"

And so Tyler and I went to get more drinks.

We sit down on a log, a makeshift bench, and I lean my head on his shoulder, not really wanting this new drink.

"Alright, what's up with you?" he asks suddenly.

I blink slowly, trying to focus back in. "What?"

"Why are you all mopey?"

"I'm not mopey," I pout.

Tyler picks the drink out of my hands easily, saying, "You're mopey" before finishing it off in one go. "Stop being mopey."

"I'm not mopey."

"Only mopey people say it in that tone of voice. Now what's up, or else I'm gonna go make out with Louise right now."

"Ty, no, you're drunk, don't do it!" I say quickly, sitting up. "Fine! I'm a little mopey, I don't mean to be, but it's all Damon's fault! Okay, maybe mine too but mostly his."

Tyler sighed, "What happened?"

"We had a fight, things were said, not very nice things...and now he might be leaving...and I'm gonna still miss him..."

"Then go tell him," he says, standing up. I look up at Tyler who grabs my hands and lifts me to my feet. "Matt said he saw him earlier, so let's go find him. Apologise, kiss and makeup. Either things can go back to normal between you two, or your conscious will be cleared and you can come back to party properly without the mopey attitude."

Even though I think we may have overkilled our use of the word 'mopey' tonight, I guess I agreed with drunk Tyler, which is a terrifying thought in itself.

Damon is my friend, friends sometimes fight, it's fine, so long as you apologise after and mean it, and also learn from it. Plus, after some thought, I don't want potentially our last interaction to be bad, not after all the good times we have had.

Yeah, I'm gonna go find him and try and say sorry before all this is over.

Let's go.

Along the way to the church where the tomb is, I end up losing Tyler, which is probably a good thing considering that I come across Stefan burning some poor guy alive.

As he collapses and his screams quieten, the flames fading not long after, I can't help but stare at Stefan who then seems to realise I'm here.

"Skye."

"Dude, what the fuck."

And then I throw up, believe it or not. Being drunk and the smell of rotten flesh will do that to you.

Stefan leads me down to the tomb where Bonnie and Sheila stand worryingly looking at the entrance of the eerie-looking tomb. He hands me a bottle of water which I graciously take and chug quickly.

"Where's Elena?" Stefan asks them.

"Damon took her inside," Bonnie replied, coming over and giving me an over the shoulder hug.

"Dude, what the fuck."

"What?" Stefan said, clearly about to rush in if Sheila hadn't grabbed him.

"Stefan!" she called, "If you go in there, you won't come out."

Both Stefan and I look at her confused.

"What did you do?" he asked.

"Opening the door didn't remove the seal, it just opened the door," Sheila explained. "Some seals come vampires from entering, some seals keep them from leaving."

"I wonder what one this is," I groan.

"Elena's human, she can leave," Stefan said, hopefully thinking out loud and not just saying the obvious. "Katherine and Anna can't..."

"Damon can't either," I said, not exactly happy about that fact. He's been betrayed, again. No wonder he can't trust anybody.

We spend the next few minutes waiting for Elena to come out, hoping that she was alright in there. I continued to sip on the bottle of water I was handed earlier, holding onto Bonnie's hand for comfort.

I'm fiddling with one of the mini torches they had brought along, thinking it isn't too bad sitting out here until we hear Elena scream bloody murder.

And then I'm up and rushing in, following right behind Stefan before I can stop him and before Bonnie or Sheila can stop me.

I click the little torch on, grateful I've sobered up a bit, and begin making my way through the tomb.

It is definitely spooky in here, dark and a little claustrophobic in general, and I'm beginning to question my decision when I come to a set of crossroads. I didn't expect there to be a maze down here!

Well, in a situation like this, let's stick with the wall on our left, don't wanna get completely lost...

The journey through these caves is quite ominous already, I can practically hear the spooky music playing in the back of my head. However, it only sank in that this is a real tomb filled with real people, real vampires, when I start seeing the bodies lying against the walls, laying on the floor. All of them wearing the clothes from their time, all of them looking like living skeletons, barely clinging onto their life.

I gingerly stepped around and over them, doing my best to keep my distance, not wanting to be grabbed by any of them and made a meal of.

Eventually, I see light coming from one of the tunnels.

Thinking it's Elena, I speed up, slowing down as I see it's instead Damon, alone.

He kicks the torch on the floor against the wall in fury, mumbling to himself angrily.

"Damon?" I say, making him turn to me.

"She's not here..." he mumbles, I'm barely able to hear him.

"What?"

He turns to me, the veins in his eyes prominent, showing his more vampire face filled with anguish. "She's not here!" he screams and flings a blood bag against the wall. I flinch as it makes contact, watching as the contents of the bag drip slowly down the wall.

It's then I hear the whispers all around us.

But I do my best to ignore them, focusing instead on the panic Damon is going through right now.

"It doesn't make any sense," he says, shaking his head, tears in his eyes, "They locked her inside, she should be here, where is she?"

"Hey," I say, approaching him slowly. "It's gonna be okay, but we've got to get you out of here first, yeah?"

"How could she not be in here?" he asks, voice cracking.

I place a hand on his arm to stop his pacing and try calm him down, bring him back to earth. "Damon, please, we'll figure something out. We need to get you and Stefan out of here though, okay?"

"Skye," Damon says suddenly, looking down at me with such pain and confusion in his eyes, "Why isn't she here?"

Shaking my head and trying to hold back tears of my own I reply, "I don't know...and I'm so sorry, Damon. I'm so, so sorry."

And then rushing from around the corner Stefan appears. "We need to get out, now! Bonnie and her gram are able to hold down the seal but we have to leave, now!"

"She's not here," Damon repeats sadly.

Stefan grabs his brother's arm, "She isn't worth spending all of eternity down here for, let's go!"

"No!" Damon yells, snatching his arm back.

"Damon!" I yell back, snatching his attention off Stefan for a moment. "Please, we have to go. We have to."

With a huff, Damon roughly fixes his jacket back on properly, and we're on the move.

Halfway along the corridor, we bump into Elena who Stefan promptly turns back around and we continue moving out of the tomb quickly. As soon as we exit, the door slams shut behind us with a bang.

My heart racing in my chest, I take a moment to realise I could have been trapped in there if we were only a few seconds late.

As Bonnie and her gram take a minute to recover, Elena and Stefan share an embrace, I turn to Damon who currently faces the wall, his shoulders shaking slightly.

Still aware of the fact that the last time we properly spoke we had a major fight, and what he went through is probably the worst-case scenario, I cautiously approach him, gently placing a hand on his shoulder to turn him around.

The sheer and utter brokenness in his eyes breaks my heart, and it takes everything in me not to cry from just that.

I gently place a hand on his cheek, watching as he closes his eyes for a moment. "I'm sorry," I say, hating my voice for breaking at the last moment. I wrap my arms around him tightly after that, hiding any tears that may escape.

Feeling his arms wrapping around my waist firmly brings me some comfort, and I hope he feels it too. We stand like that for a few moments, and thankfully the others excuse themselves accordingly. Bonnie taking her gram who was quite tired up, and Elena rushing to check on Jeremy who was apparently knocked out up the stairs.

Slowly I feel Damon pulling away, but still standing his ground. "We're good, right, Skye?" he says quietly, looking completely drained.

"Yeah," I say, holding back tears and smiling the best I can, "We're good, Damon."

* * *

**Wordcount: 5,473  
****Proofread: mostly :)**

**And the tomb has been opened! Honestly, it almost makes me cry this episode with Bonnie's gran dying and everything like. Phew, emotional rollercoaster. Either way! I hope you enjoyed my take on this episode, I'm quite proud of how quickly I managed to get it out and if you are too...**

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**PrincessMagic - I'm so glad you liked the last chapter! I was quite proud of the Dameo and Skyliet joke, so I'm glad it came across well ^.^ I hope you enjoyed this one too!**


	19. Chapter 19 - Recovery

**I'm so sorry for the late upload, life has been hmmm lately**

**But hey, remember, super troupers, in fanfiction time is a social construct and anything is possible!**

**Thank you to all you new favs and followers! I do notice you, and I hope you and all the other lovely readers enjoy this new chapter! Sorry it's a lil short...**

* * *

Well, saying that we're good might have been a lie. And by saying 'we' I mean, everybody...

It's been a rough few weeks, is what I'm trying to say.

Everyone has been dealing with things on their own since Bonnie's Gram's funeral. It was a beautiful service, heartbreaking overall, but it was bound to be considering the woman we were mourning. We all showed up to support Bonnie and her family, who Bonnie then went off with straight after the funeral to go stay with. I haven't really heard from her since, but I hope she's doing well.

Funerals and mourning really sent Elena back into a more reclusive state, similar to how she'd been after her own parents' funeral. It must have brought stuff back, so I've tried to give her some support too. Stefan was really the MVP at looking after her though.

Matt seems to be doing a bit better with being on his own though, which is some good news at least. He's got a consistent shift schedule now which makes it easier to plan around. Tyler and I try to show up at least once or twice a week after school, Caroline is also showing up more and more which is a nice sign of their developing relationship.

And then there was Damon...

In terms of dealing, well...

"I don't care whose phone it is, but I want it off!"

"Sorry, sir," I apologised, hurriedly trying to get my phone out from my jacket pocket to turn it off! It wouldn't stop buzzing, and can you believe who would be drunk texting me at approximately 10:24 am?

_56 missed messages from Problem Child_

I grumbled under my breath as the number kept jumping up higher by the second, shoving it back in my pocket and hoping he wouldn't drain my battery this time. You know, there's so much he could do with super speed, and speedy text spamming is what he decides is most useful? Are you kidding me?

The bell rings, indicating the end of this class and the start of the lunch break.

My head yanks back from my ponytail and I groan in pain, making Tyler laugh.

"You know, it's no wonder our moms think you like me since you keep doing shit like this!" I scold, throwing my locker open with a slam.

"Uh oh," he says, quite amused, which is not good for me, "Touchy today, are we?"

"Go to hell."

"What's put you in a bad mood?" Tyler asks, getting his lunch from his own locker.

With a sigh, I turn and lean against the lockers. "It's...Damon."

"Uh oh," Tyler says, raising an eyebrow, "What's he done now? Need me to beat him up?"

I smile at the offer, knowing how sadly that fight may end. It's nice to know I've got a jock on my side though. "It isn't his fault, he's just dealing with...I dunno, a breakup I guess."

"A breakup? Skye, this is the perfect time to jump his bones!"

I slam my locker close making him jump. "I'm not a rebound, Ty!" A few people in the corridor turn to look at what the noise was all about. I groan in frustration, and then proceed to walk towards the cafeteria where I can hopefully find Caroline to help me somehow.

I find her and Elena sitting together and speaking, which is nice. Caroline has been a little...not scared, but nervous around Elena now that she's officially dating Matt.

It's then I find out that she's searching for her biological mother. It isn't that strange I guess, wanting to find out who your birth parents are after you're adopted, but also-

"You're adopted?!"

We may have forgotten that Caroline didn't know...

So, after explaining as much as she could without all the supernatural business, Elena continues telling us how she and Jenna have been trying to dig up some stuff from her dad's old work practice, see if they can find a name or old address or something.

It's almost a nice distraction from the supernatural that has been happening recently, and the recent outcomes of our last supernatural event...

My phone buzzing once more makes me groan and check to see how many messages I have now. I should probably phone him back.

At this point, I don't care if Katherine and I were friends in a past life or if I have memories of her friend or whatever! _Nothing_ will be worth having to put up with drunk Damon texting and calling and draining your battery every day as he tries to 'deal' with the fact that his supposed lover who he had oh so romantically waited 145 years for was not actually waiting for him.

God, it really is awful.

How the hell do you even _begin_ to deal with that?

Damon is making it pretty hard to help him right now, which sucks because I want to help him and I don't know how to. I do know though that I don't want another Vicki incident, I don't want to be drunk every single day with him, I don't want to see him dancing and feeding on sorority girls, and I don't want to be a rebound!

But despite the everything I'm feeling right now, this isn't about me, at least it shouldn't be, and so after calming down I finally decide to phone Damon back at the end of lunch.

"Are you sober now?" I ask once I hear him answer.

_"Unfortunately. Buzzkill Bob showed up."_

I rolled my eyes. "It's Stefan's house too, you know."

_"So you keep reminding me. What's up?"_

"Meet me at the Grill?" I ask, crossing my arms over my chest and watching as people were already heading to their lockers before the bell even rang. "After school, get you out of the house, we can get food and talk about how you need to stop spamming me while I'm in school."

There was a pause. _"...I did it again?"_ came a quiet but not exactly regretful reply.

"Yes!"

_"Are you sure it isn't just the messages from last time coming through? Because I swear I asked you to bring KFC with you - "_

"And I'm telling you, I never got that text," I sighed, rubbing my forehead. "Anyway, meet you at the Grill after school, yes?"

_"Aye, aye, captain."_

And so the rest of the school day passed by easily enough, the most amount of drama that happened was in - haha - drama where the two leads fought about who messed up their lines, and turns out it was both of them. Usual high school drama which I'm almost thankful for these days.

It might be getting colder these days, but it was a nice and sunny Friday afternoon and so I was happy enough to walk to the Grill.

I reach the Grill, getting there just before the after-school rush. Perfect chance to get a pool table, or just a table in general.

Looking around the room, I didn't expect Damon to be speaking with the sheriff of all people at this moment. And...he's still day drinking, of course. I wonder if he'll consider doing Sober October.

"Afternoon, Skye," Liz Forbes says as she passes by me with a polite smile.

"Afternoon," I greet back, mirroring her smile before heading towards the bar where Damon is seated.

I hop up next to him and sit my phone on the counter.

Without looking at it, he continues to cradle his drink. "What's that?"

"That's what I wanna know," I reply sternly, crossing my arms over my chest. "You sent so many messages and my phone died, again!"

"Just get a better phone..."

"Damon!"

"I'll even pay for it."

Groaning, I took my phone back and shoved it in my bag. "That isn't the issue, Damon. Please, just tell me...how are you doing, seriously?"

Damon furrows his eyebrows before taking a deep drink of whatever whiskey he's trying today. Slam goes the glass on the counter. And a smirk appears, letting me know we aren't having our emotional breakthrough today. "Did you know, Skye," he says smugly, leaning forward, "That I am one of Mystic Falls' very own eligible bachelors."

"That sounds fake," I deadpan, leaning back to get away from the overpowering smell of alcohol.

"Well, it's true," he shrugs, waving the barman over to refill his drink.

Sometimes I wonder what the staff here must think of him...surely they must worry about his liver? Probably not actually, they don't get paid to care about that sort of stuff. Either way, Damon got his drink with little to no worry, happily swirling it around in his glass.

Then he places a hand on chest. "How rude of me," he says, turning to me. "Do you want anything?"

I shake my head, picking at the edge of the bar. "I'm good, thanks."

"You know," he starts, and I have a feeling I'm in for it now. "It's going to be quite exciting tomorrow evening, a whole crowd of women trying to get a date with me. Are you gonna buy a ticket?"

"I think it's over-18s only," I say, guessing that would be the case. "Sorry."

"That's a shame," he says in that sing-along voice of his, "I'm a real catch, apparently."

Rolling my eyes, I grab the glass being held loosely in his hands, downing the drink in one disgusting swig. "Ew! Disgusting."

"Hey!"

"Come on," I say, grabbing his arm and dragging him onto his feet shakily. Maybe that alcohol affected him more than I thought... "Let's have a game of pool while we're here, maybe I'll be able to beat you this time."

"Oh, Skye," Damon says, wrapping a surprisingly comforting arm around my shoulder. He leaned down though, and whispered in my ear, "I'm not that drunk." And completely ruined any and all comfort that hug had brought.

Elbowing him in the side, I lead the way to the pool table, making sure to ask for a jug of water for the table as we passed by one of the waiters.

I don't know exactly know how much of a hangover you can get from being a vampire, with super healing and all that jazz, but water is going to be our drink of choice for this lovely Friday evening, not more alcohol where I can stop it.

I swear I feel more like a sober companion these days than a friend.

Although, I am glad that we are friends. I don't know what I would have done if we hadn't made up, I don't know if Damon would have been any better or worse without me, but I'm glad to be here if he needs help.

Then again...

"Ha!" he cheered as he potted the final ball. "I win!"

Even though I just lost, I couldn't help the grin spreading on my face seeing one of his very, very rare smiles. Especially rare these days.

* * *

"Are you ready?" I call from downstairs, checking my watch.

"Almost!" Kieron calls back making me roll my eyes. I swear, he spends more time on his hair than I do.

Speaking of which...

I turn to the hallway mirror and double-check to see if my hair was looking alright. I'm not even sure why I'm putting so much effort in tonight, but I guess it's because I know everyone else is going to be looking all fancy.

We leave the house together, arriving as one of the founding families to support the charity event. As soon as we arrived, Kieron ran off to find his friends who were already creating trouble, clutching the Gameboy in his hands. My mother jokingly buys a ticket making my dad scoff, the pair of them walking away while I stood to speak to Caroline a bit more.

The event went as standard, a little boring, dragging on at times, but with the arrival of none other than Matt's mom, Kelly Donavon, coming home after who knows what may have happened. My parents never really liked her, tolerating her more than anything whenever she was around. I never noticed it much as a kid, but growing up it became much clearer.

However, I don't think I could expect whatever Damon did tonight.

I knew he was very much in a bad place right now but I never expected him to gloat about killing Alaric's wife! Yeah, I may not have been clued in much lately but if you knew Damon was a vampire and his tendencies as a vampire then it's pretty obvious what he was saying...

Thing is, I didn't realise she was also Elena's birth mother until after the fact. Definitely made things worse when you didn't think things could possibly get any worse.

Speaking of things getting worse, after seeing someone get hit by a car in an accident, I agreed to go back to the boarding house with Stefan to check on Damon who ditched the rest of the event. And you won't believe what we walked in on.

Could you have guessed that Damon killed my history teacher? Again!

If I had a dollar for every time Damon killed my history teacher I would have 2 dollars, which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice.

"Damon!" I cried out when we saw Alaric's corpse. Damon had just been sitting there, not even bothering to help or heal him!

"What did you do?" Stefan asked, kneeling beside Alaric's corpse, probably to check if he was really dead.

"Hey!" Damon said defensively, holding his drink up. "This was self-defence, he came at me!"

I whirled around to face him just as he stood, balling my hands up into fists, very tempted to start smacking him but pretty sure I would only end up injuring myself. "Can you just let one of my history teachers live?"

In response, Damon finishes the rest of his drink and thrusts the glass into my hands. "Maybe the third time's the charm. I'm assuming you'll take care of this, Stefan? Night, night!" And with a dropped jaw, I watch him stroll out of the room, seemingly not a care in the world, leaving us to deal with...oh god, Alaric...

He was such a good teacher, genuinely. It's a shame we only knew him for such a short time, he really seemed like a nice guy. He helped not only me but countless other students with getting their history marks back on schedule and made things super fun and interesting. For the first time in high school, I'm considering taking history as a subject next year, because he made it worthwhile!

Plus, he was getting closer to Jenna too, according to Elena. They would have made such a cute couple...

He didn't deserve this.

He deserved better.

He...

Is breathing.

Stefan and I exchange what can only be explained as utterly bewildered looks before turning our gazes to our history teacher.

So...Damon killed my history teacher, _again_, but this time he came back? To life?

And no, we don't have another Vicki situation on our hands. Turns out, man has a magic ring. Not a vampire, not dead, where can I get me one of them bad boys?

Trying to blink the shock away, and failing spectacularly, I say the most intelligent thing I can think to say at that moment. "Wow."

* * *

"What was wrong with that one?!"

I flinched away from one upset Caroline, not wanting to be in reaching distance. "Listen - "

"No, you listen," she said, cutting me off, pointing a finger at you, "For being attracted to everyone - "

"I'm not - "

" - you sure as hell make it hard to set you up with somebody!"

"I'm sorry for being picky!" I groan, rolling my eyes. "But listen, I swear it wouldn't have worked."

Caroline crossed her arms over her chest, raising an eyebrow. "And why is that?"

"He didn't know Freddie Mercury was the singer of Queen!"

"Okay, that's valid."

It's a new dawn, it's a new day, my history teacher is still alive, Damon is still spiralling and Caroline is still trying to set me up with anybody else but him. And you know what, she does have a point, I technically have twice as much chance to bang a date, why is it that I can't seem to get past the first date with anybody?

We reach my locker and I bang my head on it once with a groan. "I'm gonna die alone, aren't I?"

Caroline rolls her eyes. "That's not true!"

"What's happened now?" we turn to see Tyler opening his locker next to us.

"Skye sucks at dating," Caroline says without hesitation.

"Hey!"

"Well, we knew that already."

"Hey!"

"Why have you been going on all these dates anyway?" he asks, grabbing his books and slamming the locker behind him. "Or, well, trying to get a date in some cases."

I sighed, shrugging my shoulders. "Well, my mom and Caroline are the main reason."

"Hey!"

"But I dunno, maybe I'm just bored. It sucks that my last good date might have been with Lana," I groaned, smacking the back of my head on the lockers.

The bell rings, indicating the start of the next class. We're late. Caroline rushes off, leaving Tyler and me to walk to our next class.

He wraps an arm around my shoulder as a few freshmen rush past us. "Hey, I've got an idea."

"Oh no..."

"Hear me out," he says, making me worry, "How about I take you out on a proper date."

The pause between that sentence and the punchline of this joke sure is taking a while. Almost too long...to the point I'm now wondering if this is a joke. "You're not serious...are you?"

"Sure I am!" he says, unwrapping his arm and smacking his hands together. "It's the perfect plan! You get to see how a good date should go, we'll be able to tell our moms that we at least gave it a shot, and I'll even let you win a pool."

"Sold!" That last point is what really got me to agree, the other points were really just the icing on top.

We reach the classroom door just as our teacher was losing it, glaring at us as we saunter in. The class is still quite loud, waiting until the teacher decides to silence us for the lesson. As we sat down and I took a quick look around to make sure nobody else was listening in before turning to Tyler...

"Remember, I don't want the _full _Lockwood experience, yeah?"

Tyler rolled his eyes. "Please, you haven't paid enough for the full experience."

I rolled my eyes back at him, "And thank god for that."

* * *

It's about lunchtime when I make my way up to the boarding house, risking an in house visit with Damon to see how he was doing. Stefan has said that the sorority girls have been showing up less and less, so I think that's a good sign of recovery.

I give the big wooden door a knock before just walking in, announcing my arrival, "Damon, it's me!"

Turning the corner into the living room parlour area, only to come to find Damon getting held up by the neck by some fancy dressed vampire lady.

Oh, shi-

I hold my hands in front of me in defence. "Whatever he's done, he didn't mean it, he's just too stupid to realise it!" I say as her and the girl with her turn to face me. "I'll apologise on his behalf because I know he probably hasn't!"

"S-Skye!" Damon manages to choke out, clawing at the hand currently holding him hostage.

"We're done here," the woman says, dropping Damon to the ground.

Damon coughs a couple of times, getting air into his lungs. "No way am I playing your little minion," he says, beginning to get to his feet.

"This isn't negotiable," she says before pushing her thumbs through his eyes, drawing a horrifying scream from him.

Wow, that's a high pitched scream. Wait, that's me screaming too!

The two other vampires walk right past me, and as soon as they pass I rush over to Damon where he's on the floor, groaning and holding a hand over his bleeding eyes.

"Shit, shit...what do you need? What can I do?" I ask, placing a hand on his back in an attempt to comfort him somehow. God, what are you supposed to do in this situation? Man has just lost his eyeballs! Oh no, I hope they grow back...

"Blood..." Damon croaks out.

I nod my head, getting up to look around for hopefully a glass already poured out. Seeing nothing, I curse. "Fuck it." I rush and kneel back beside Damon, rolling up my sleeve quickly and pushing it towards his face, still covered by his hands. "Don't make me regret this."

"Skye, are you sure?" he asks, already gripping onto my wrist.

Seeing gaping holes where his eyes should have been staring back at me, I nod my head, closing my own eyes. "Yeah," I say, realising I need to verbalise it since he can't see me. "Just promise you'll heal me after..."

"Of course," he says, and I feel two tiny daggers at my wrist. And then they're pressing down, making me wince and almost pull away as I feel them pierce through my skin.

It's a strange sensation having your blood sucked out. It kind of feels like when you donate blood, except the needle has gone in at the wrong bit. And you can feel another person's lips on your skin, soft and gentle in comparison...

I don't know what to do at this moment, so I end up just placing a hand on top of Damon's head, surprised at how soft his hair is. So nice...

Ah, a thought just occurred to me.

How much blood is too much blood, and how can you tell? You know, when you're a vampire?

"Damon," I say, pressing my hand a little harder on his head, now trying to move him off and take my wrist back. "I'm feeling a lil...dizzy..."

My wrist is then released and a small trickle of blood flows from one of the two small wounds. Damon takes a harsh bite out of his own wrist, making me flinch as I now know what that really feels like.

His eyes are still gaping holes, so I don't complain when I'm pulled back into Damon's chest to be paid what I'm owed. One arm is lazily left across my lap and the other is brought to my mouth where I gulp before biting the bullet and taking a drink.

The taste of blood is always coppery, but this has a slightly sweeter taste to it, making it easier to swallow. Soon enough, the wound closes up and I feel like I've had more than enough for one human.

I stare at my own wrist, watching in almost morbid fascination as the small holes close up, layer by layer.

Despite the exchange being over now, I feel too tired to move. And so I lean back on Damon's chest, quite comfortable for the time being even though we're still sitting on the floor.

I shut my eyes, not thinking anything else about it, not realising I'd end up falling asleep.

* * *

_"I don't want to kill anyone..." a young woman whispered, holding her arms around herself, staring almost in fear at the man standing stoically still across from her._

_"And you won't," a second man promised, brown hair looking immaculately kept, eyes looking at her so kindly. He held a hand out to her, patiently waiting for her to accept. "Trust me, I won't let you kill anybody else."_

_She looked at the hand hesitantly before glancing back up at him, eyes pleading, she said, "You promise?"_

_He smiled kindly, a smile that would make anyone wish to trust him. "I promise, my dear. I'm not like...him."_

_That seemed to do it. Nodding her head, she grasped his hand, allowing herself to be led towards where the first man stood, staring off into the distance as if he didn't realise what was happening to him, didn't care. He was clearly compelled._

_"You know what to do..."_

_And she did. She took the arm of the man, pulling back the sleeve and quickly locating a suitable vein, biting down hard and beginning to feast._

_The thrill, tapping into someone's bloodstream and having access to their life, having the ability to end it with such little effort, able to feel the exact moment their heart stops beating...is extraordinary!_

_But the feeling stops, and it takes me a moment to realise my perspective has changed._

_I am now this woman, hissing at the other vampire who holds me back from finishing the human off, angry because how dare he stop it when it's getting to the good bit! What right does he have to take this away from me?_

_However, no matter how much I seem to struggle in his arms, it's impossible to break free, and I know words have been spoken but I couldn't tell you what they were. The human begins to leave though, and I'm struggling harder, wanting to finish my meal._

_It's impossible to tell how much time has passed, but I'm laying in the man's arms, my back against his chest as we rest on the floor. I've calmed down._

_The realisation hits, and a tear rolls down my cheek. "Thank you..."_

_I feel him place a kiss to the top of my head, keeping his arms wrapped around my middle. "Of course, dear. I promised, didn't I?"_

* * *

**Wordcount:  
****Proofread?: Lil bit :)**

**I wanna apologise if this seems rushed in some places, but I realised I didn't want to drag some parts out unnecessarily if I wasn't enjoying writing it, and that might come off as me just being lazy so, I'm sorry about that.**

**Also, sorry for how long it took to update! It's been a lil chaotic lately, the standard for this year.**

**But I hope you enjoyed! If you did or didn't then please please Please write a cheeky wee review, they genuinely give me a huge boost of motivation which I'm definitely needing these days lmao**

_Replying to PrincessMagic_

**PrincessMagic - Thank you! I'm v happy with the achievements so far! ^.^ I'm hoping in this chapter and those upcoming that I can showcase the dynamic between Caroline, Tyler and Skye because their friendship? It is IT sis!**


	20. Chapter 20 - Date Night

**Glad we didn't have such a big gap between uploads this time lmao  
Beware I've started back at uni now though, so frequent updates may be a bit hmm. Plus, Netflix UK is removing TVD so :( Pls let me know where I can watch it instead**

**Also, it's my birthday tomorrow, 9th Oct, I'll be 21 by the time you read this, that's wild lol, I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

The classroom quickly made itself quite empty, aside from the teacher and a few students in no rush to leave so soon.

"Elena," the teacher called, making the girl turn back around. "Do you know where Skye was today? Did she go home sick?"

Elena shrugged apologetically, "Sorry, Miss, I haven't seen her today."

"Well, remind her of the test next week!"

Not thinking anything else by it, Elena nods her head. "Will do," she says, walking out and meeting up with Stefan, exchanging a quick kiss in the hallway.

The pair of them see a bickering Caroline and Tyler ahead of them, standing by Tyler's open locker with many passing students giving them a wide berth and incredulous look.

"You can't be serious, Tyler!"

"Can't be serious about what?" Stefan asks curiously.

Caroline huffs, pointing an accusing finger at Tyler, "He says he's taking Skye out on a date!"

Elena's eyes widen, shocked, "What?!"

For as long as she could remember, Skye and Tyler had been the best of friends and refused to indulge their mothers' desire for them to be more than that. Why the sudden change now? Had something happened, had something changed?

"Yeah, because apparently, I set her up on rubbish dates," Caroline says.

Nevermind...

"You do," Tyler says, closing his locker door with a slam. "So we're gonna go out, have a nice time - "

"No way!" Caroline snaps, smacking the lockers. "We know what you mean by that - "

"Ew! Gross, not like that," he cringes.

"What?" she says, offended, crossing her arms over her chest. "Is Skye not good enough for you now?"

Stefan and Elena exchange an exasperated look, feeling bad for the boy who had somehow dug himself into a much deeper hole than he was already in.

"Look, all I asked was did you know where she was, Care! Jeez, I was supposed to be giving her a lift home."

"Well, maybe she didn't want to go anywhere with the likes of you," Caroline said, turning away from Tyler.

Elena perked up at this, that paranoid feeling creeping up on her when something just doesn't feel right. Memories of the last few weeks come to mind, in particular the one with Lana's family... "Wait, was Skye in earlier today?"

"Yeah, she went out for lunch and I haven't seen her since, why?" Tyler asked.

She shook her head. "Just...we have a test coming up."

"She went to check in with Damon," Caroline said, making the three of them turn to her. "...what?"

Elena and Stefan shared another look, now slightly worried. Damon wasn't quite back on the rails yet, had something happened?

"Nothing," Stefan said, keen to get home and make sure everything was alright.

Tyler sighed, shrugged his jacket on. "I can't believe Skye is already cheating on me before our first date!"

Caroline scoffs, "Like you haven't done worse."

* * *

That place between sleep and not quite sleep is perhaps what the word bliss is based on because damn, it really is just amazing. And it's a damn shame that I appear to be drifting out of that bliss.

Despite the initial trauma in the dream, the latter half where I'm being held all nicely was...well, nice. Worth the trauma? I mean, at this point, sure. It almost feels like I'm still in the dream...

...ah, five more minutes!

I let out a content sigh, trying to roll over to my other side only to find some resistance. Have I got myself tangled in the bedsheets again? Uh, this sucks. Opening my eyes, I see I am not actually in my room, but the Salvatore Boarding house living area. The floor to be specific.

And then it's like I notice everything at once.

Arm. Chest. Person. Breath. Oh, it Damon.

His eyes were still closed, and there were lines of dried up blood streaking down his cheeks, reminding me of what had happened. I raise a hand and gently brush against his cheek, causing a couple of dried blood particles to fall to the floor. Just as I'm wondering if he was asleep... "How're you feeling?"

"Um...fine," I said, unsure about why we were still sitting on the floor. "How long were we...asleep for?"

"Please, I've been regrowing eyeballs here, my head is pounding," Damon says, leaning his head back against the sofa. "You've been asleep for maybe two hours now? Three?"

"Shit!" I said, trying to stand up, and failing miserably, "I'm gonna be late!"

"For what? You've already missed school..." he asks, not releasing me. Damn vampire strength, I want to break free!

I search around to see where I dropped my phone and spot it on the floor a few feet away, way out of reach. "I'm meeting up with Tyler later, he was supposed to give me a lift home. He probably thinks I've ditched him."

"Who cares what that little jock thinks..." he grumbles, further tightening his grip around me.

"I do! Now can you let me go?" I say, trying to remove his hands. Sure they feel like flesh, but why do they act like bloody stone?!

"Wait!" Perhaps despite my better judgement, I stop my struggle for a minute to see what it is he wants now. "I need you to do something for me..."

I sighed, resting my arms over his. Let's get this over with. "What is it?" He mumbles something and I furrow my eyebrows in confusion. "What?" Again, mumbling mumble over here strikes again. "Stop mumbling, I'm right next to you and I can't hear a word you're saying!"

Damon huffs, before practically growling out, "Check, are my eyes okay?"

I blink in confusion before realising he hasn't actually opened his eyes yet. The stains of blood around his eyes reminding me of the events from earlier, making me shiver. It was horrible seeing that woman's thumbs digging into his skull...

It's also probably quite inappropriate at this moment to think he still looks beautiful. If we weren't actually speaking to one another, it could seem like he was just asleep. All the cockiness that he seemed to constantly exude seemed so distant right now. His hair was getting longer too, falling into his face more these days.

"Well," I say, gently brushing a hand to push his hair from his face, suddenly aware of how fast my heart has been beating and hoping he doesn't notice, "Open up and...we'll see what we're dealing with."

A twitch of a smile passes over Damon's face before, slowly but surely, his eyelashes flutter and I can see his eyes, that beautiful shade of blue. They looked a little red, a little tender, but aside from that...

I gave him a smile, "Well, your eyes are back, can you see okay?" I hold up a middle finger. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

Damon has no bother rolling his eyes, smacking my hand, causing me to laugh. "Haha, very funny. I need to find some sunglasses, it's way too bright."

Finally, I'm free to stand up, helping Damon get to his feet before stretching, feeling stiff from sitting in the same position for so long. My butt feels numb...

I grabbed my phone as Damon grabbed a drink, squinting at the light. Alright, not bad, only a couple of missed messages from Tyler and Elena, none from my mom which means we're safe! I quickly sent a reply to Tyler, letting him know I'm still on for tonight and apologising for ditching him earlier.

Just as I'm about to send a text to Elena, the door opens and Damon is once again at my side, standing in a slightly defensive position.

I turn expecting to see the two vampires ladies from earlier standing at the entrance, but a sigh of relief passes through me as I see it's only Stefan. I hear a small breath leave Damon too, his shoulders relaxing.

"Hello, brother, how was school?" Damon says, turning back to refill his drink.

"Fine, what happened to you?" Stefan asks, only getting a shrug and grumble from Damon making me roll my eyes. Stefan glances towards me. "You okay Skye?"

I nod my head. "Yeah, I'm fine. Accidentally took a nap, that's all. Didn't mean to miss school, did anything happen?"

Stefan shook his head, seeming to finally relax too. "Nothing major."

"Good," I grinned, walking towards him and grabbing my bag from where I'd dropped it. "I'll see you later, Damon! I gotta go home, I'm meeting Tyler soon."

"So I heard."

Oh no, nuh uh, I didn't like that tone of voice at all. Slowly I turned to give a smirking Stefan a glare. Pointing a finger at him, I nodded my head. "Not a word."

He holds his hands up in defence, walking backwards into the living room. "See you later!"

Something tells me tonight may be slightly more eventful than I was hoping it would be.

* * *

I should have known that she'd find out about this...

"I can't believe this day has finally come!"

Of course she would, I just thought it would be after the 'date' and I would get to avoid all of the preparation drama.

"I've laid some nice clothes for you on your bed, get changed and I'll help you with your hair!"

"Honey, leave her alone," my dad said, trying to ease some of my pain. One look from my mother though and he turned to me to say sternly, "You better get ready before you're late."

Groaning, I turned out of the kitchen and rushed up the stairs, hearing Kieron asking what was going on behind me.

As soon as I entered my room, I knew I was going to be choosing completely different outfits.

Now, I would have chosen a nice pair of jeans, a signature jacket, a nice pair of boots, but no. For some reason, all my jeans seemed to have disappeared from my wardrobe. Unusual since I didn't put any in for the wash. Hmmm...

In the end, I take the more casual dress out of all the options, a skater style dress that even has pockets! Flinging on a pair of ankle boots and a leather jacket, I head down the stairs to confront my mother about where my clothes were.

"Invasion of privacy, ever heard of it?"

"I want you to look smart! Jeans are not smart!"

"Privacy!"

"Don't get cheeky with me!"

I send Tyler a text to let me know when he's outside so we can get out of this with as little embarrassment as possible. Mission impossible, sure, but we managed to pull it off with the help of my little brother. Bless him.

"You're wearing a dress?" is the first thing Tyler can think to say to me after I get in the car.

"It has pockets!"

"Cool!"

"And my mom made me wear it," I said, buckling up. "Speaking of, drive! Drive! Before we get dragged back in for pictures!"

"Aye, aye, captain!"

And we're off! Freedom! Mission accomplished!

Future me will have some issues later but hey, future me isn't current me! Let's enjoy the current time and worry about future time later!

I glance over to see what Tyler was forced to wear by his mom, doing a double-take and snorting when I see "A tie? A tie for Ty?"

Tyler rolled his eyes, loosening the tie slightly. "My mom made me wear it."

"Of course," I say, nodding my head. "By the way, we owe Kieron a pizza night."

"We?"

"Did you want to spend half an hour on photos?"

"What toppings does he want?"

* * *

The Grill is in its usual state with a good mix of both youngsters and oldies all enjoying a night out on the town.

Tyler, like the gentleman he is, opens the door on the way in and leads us towards one of the smaller booths that were free near the back.

"Poor Kieron was confused, my father was forced to pretend to be excited, it was a whole ordeal."

"Glad we got out of there safely," Tyler said, looking at the menu, even though we know what we're going to get already.

"So," I say, slapping my menu down on the table, clasping my hands in front of me, taking a serious approach. "What are your moves?"

He raises an eyebrow, also placing his menu down, copying my stance. "Moves?"

"Don't play coy."

"Okay, fine," Tyler says, leaning back just in time for the waiter to come over and take our order. Once he leaves though, we get back to business. "So, first thing's first, I try and get one of them curvy booths so not only do we have to sit next to each other, but we're far enough away from the bar's view that I can go in for one."

I shake my head, indicating to where we're sitting now. "Sly, but what happens when you get one of these booths instead?"

"They're not so bad, you've just got to switch seats at some point, maybe show them something on your phone, get all cosy," he grins. "And then I go in for one. Now, your moves, go."

Ah, well...oh dear.

Gulping, I shrug slightly, glancing towards the bar area and hoping that our food or at least drinks were on their way. No such luck.

Well, here we go.

"So," I start, deciding to just bite the bullet, laying my hands on the table. "I don't exactly...have any moves."

"Well," Tyler sighs, "That explains a lot."

"Hey!"

"I'm surprised you've gotten this far, to be honest."

"Alright, enough!" I say, smacking the table just as the drinks arrived, slightly startling the poor waiter and making Tyler snigger. This fine. "You know, you haven't been the best date so far, you've only got a 2 out of 10 ratings so far."

"2 out of 10?!"

"Yeah, for holding the doors open, and driving us here. Aside from that, it's been poor quality."

"Right, let's get started then..."

And so we begin, and it's weird. It's very weird. I've seen Tyler being flirty plenty of times, but I've only ever been on the receiving end as a joke, never in a serious setting, meaning I'm a laughing mess in between compliments and comments that were thrown my way.

It gets to the point where we're both trying to come up with the cheesiest pick-up lines, giving up on the idea that this is going to be one of them serious dates.

"Now, I'm no photographer, but I can picture us together," Tyler says, finishing it off with a wink, making me snort.

"Wait, wait," I say, trying to control my laughter, waving a hand in front of my eyes to dry them off. "Okay, okay..."

"Okay, okay."

"Tyler! Don't make me laugh!" I say, trying to stop a stupid grin from taking over my face. "Okay, here we go. Roses are red, violets are blue, how would you like it if I came home with you?"

Tyler rolls his head back with a groan, making me start laughing again.

Our food finally arrives, and after thanking the waiter, we dig in and take a break from our shenanigans. We decide to play another favourite of ours, looking around the Grill and determining if people regret leaving their homes.

Now, the reasons for this can vary. It could be that their food is late, the date they're on sucks (I've been there), they would rather be at home watching something on TV, or just straight up not having a good time. Whatever the reason though, Tyler and I don't care, we just like to make up scenarios.

"What about the group in the corner?"

"Oh yeah," I say, stealing a fry while his head was turned. "At least half of them are there to show their faces and leave as soon as possible, but nobody wants to be the first person to go home."

"Agreed," Tyler said, taking a bite out of his burger, actually taking the time to swallow before continuing. "Now, why do we think they want to leave?"

"Well, clearly there has been a divide in the group," I say, pointing a finger between the two sets of people at the pool table. "Now, I'm thinking that one of them is an imposter."

"Definitely."

A few bites later, as I'm looking for our next subject, my eyes catch those of a few familiar few. I smack Tyler's hand as it tries to steal a fry, grabbing his wrist and pointing towards where our little group of friends were currently sitting, looking like prime subjects for our little game.

"Analysis report."

"Well," Tyler starts, rubbing his hands together. "I think each of them is regretting their decisions in their own very unique way, Stefan and Matt for wanting to impress their girlfriends, Elena for wanting to keep the peace, and Caroline for trying to do the impossible."

I let out a low whistle, "That's a little too accurate there, buddy."

He shrugs, "I pay attention."

Looking back over and seeing our four friends sitting there, awkwardly, I felt bad and began wondering if we should go over there to try and disperse some of the awkward tension, or would we be putting ourselves in the line of fire too.

The sound of whooping and cheering from the bar attracts our attention though, and we peer around our booth and my jaw drops.

"No way," I say, watching as not only Matt's mom and Elena's aunt do shots together, but with Damon of all people.

He's gotten drunk, again.

You know, considering it takes a lot for a vampire to get drunk, it's getting really concerning how often he's drunk these days. I was hoping Damon was getting better too, but I guess today may have been a setback...

I don't think we even discussed what those vampire ladies wanted either, I only know that they threatened him. I hope things are okay...

As he turns around, we make eye contact, to which he lifts his drink up with a drunken smile. I give Damon a little wave before getting comfortable in my seat again with a sigh.

Glancing back towards our group of friends, I watch as they get up and head towards the now free pool tables, clear of that previous group we had watched before.

"Right," I say, making my decision now, "Will we go put the kids out of their misery and grace them with our beautiful presence?"

"If it is what the lady wishes."

"It is."

"Then let's go."

We leave money on the table, with tip, and walk the distance of the Grill, up towards where the gang are playing pool together.

"Your saviours are here!" I say happily, announcing our arrival.

"Hey, man," Tyler greets Matt, giving him a fist bump. Matt smiles, looking more relaxed with his bud standing next to him.

"I don't think you're going to save the girls in a pool game, Skye," Stefan says, leaning on his pool cue.

Offended, I extend my arm out to Elena to take the cue off her and prove Stefan wrong.

However...

"No way, Skye!" Caroline says, coming in between me and the pool table, "We still have a chance to win!"

Well, ouch. There's no arguing with Caroline, still hurts though.

Now don't get me wrong, even though I'm sensing an easing of tension with our arrival - they're welcome - it still got that awkward atmosphere, meaning it's time to bring out the big guns.

"Okay," I say from the high seat, not allowed to play the game but given a great view. "Serious answers only...is Stefan a jock?"

I am greeted with a mixture of both yes and no, and then sit back, waiting for the chaos to unfold.

"Dude, he made the team, he's a jock!"

"He's too mysterious to be a jock."

"Mysterious?"

"Yeah, you've got a whole 'I'm cool and you don't get to know why' kind of vibe."

"Wow...I'm a dick."

It's beautiful, truly my best work yet.

On this joyous note, I use this as my chance to go to the bathroom, thinking that everything would still be fine by the time I got back. Clearly, in hindsight, I thought wrong.

However, as I exit the stall to wash my hands, I see one Caroline Forbes standing by the sinks, not looking too pleased in the slightest.

Thinking for a moment I've done something wrong, I cautiously approach. We make eye contact, and nothing happens. Oh boy, it's not me that's caused an issue, or at least I hope it isn't.

Elena comes out the next stall, and I wonder how I never heard either of them come in, finding myself wishing I was out there with the guys...

"What're you doing?"

"What?"

"The point of tonight was to show Matt how much you care about Stefan," Caroline says bitterly, "You know, not to hope down memory lane."

"I was just trying to make conversation," Elena said, looking slightly taken aback.

"Yeah? Try less." Caroline says, walking straight past me and out the door, Elena following close behind her and leaving me in the bathroom quite dumbfounded.

I head back out, not knowing if things are about to properly kick off or if we've got time to repair things.

As soon as I leave, I see some man holding onto Elena's wrist. I'm glad to see that Caroline saw it too, and despite having a moment literally seconds ago, she's not leaving her alone with a potential creep.

"Elena," I say, jumping in between her and the guy, wrapping an arm around her and moving us along promptly. "Come on, what do you want to drink next?"

We make our way back to the pool table and I let her go, feeling more comfortable around the guys, in particular the super-strong vampire one.

"Hey, you good?" Tyler asks.

"Yeah," I reply, glancing behind me to where the dude is looking over. "That guy over there was bothering Elena, a bit of a creep if you ask me."

Tyler looks over my shoulder to where the guy should be and shakes his head. "What guy?"

Oh boy. Turning around, I see him missing.

Well...that sucks.

* * *

The night was getting later, and some of us were running out of money, and so when Stefan offered that we could go to the Boarding House to chill for a bit, maybe watch a movie or something, we all got into our individual motors and headed out.

Tyler had never been before, so anytime he lost sight of Stefan or Matt's car ahead of us, I kept him right.

Our car ride was fun, singing to a few pop songs that played on the radio.

Somehow this 'date' night between us got turned into a bit of a joke, and we ended up on a triple date with Stefan, Matt, Elena and Caroline in an attempt to save our friends. Truly, we are the heroes of this story. Protagonists of this coming-of-age movie.

"I want to break freeee!"

Although no one said we could sing.

We arrive at the boarding house, entering into the quite cosy lobby, making me wonder if the brothers were actually using the place as Zack had been, and if not, then what did they do to all the folk who had booked to stay here in advance ages ago? God, sometimes I forget Zack isn't coming back, it's strange...

Matt was impressed with the house, impressed with the miniature car collection, and then eventually impressed with Stefan's real life car.

Okay, maybe we were all impressed with Stefan's car.

"Dude, why don't you drive this?" Tyler asks once the cover was fully off, giving us a chance to admire it.

"Well, uh, it doesn't run," Stefan explained, lifting to show where the engine was.

"Why would you keep a car that doesn't run?" Caroline asked.

"Because it's hot!"

"True Skye," Matt said, turning to Caroline with a cheeky grin, "Can you be a bigger girl right now?" She sticks her tongue out at him, very mature of her I must say.

"Can you take a look at it for me?" Stefan asks Matt.

Matt grins, right in his zone. "Elena, remember the old Camaro your dad used to have?" And apparently going down memory lane too, oh boy.

"Of course," Elena grins back.

"Yeah," Matt says, turning to Stefan. "I built and rebuilt that engine 20 times."

"Wow," Stefan said.

"Yeah," Tyler said, patting Matt's shoulder. "Amazing how you had so much free time."

Matt shrugs him off, still grinning. "Shut up."

"Well, I don't like sports cars," Caroline says, crossing her arms over her chest. "Too hard to make out in."

"Nah, it wasn't that bad," Matt says, looking at Elena.

And bringing any and all conversation to hold.

Matt Donovan everyone!

Caroline turns and leaves the garage, I follow closely behind long enough to hear Tyler say one word and one word only.

"Dude..."

Even in her type of shoes, Caroline's longer legs are able to carry her further, making me skip a few times to catch up.

"Care, are you okay?" I ask once I'd caught up

"What do you think?" she says quietly, not turning to face me.

That makes me worry. A quiet Caroline is arguably worse than a loud one, because this means she's hurt and seriously upset.

I step up beside her and wrap my arms around her, rubbing a hand over her arm to keep her warm. I'm not sure what to say, never the best in these kind of situations.

But I guess I don't need to, with the arrival of Elena. "Caroline - "

"I don't want to talk about it," she says, cutting Elena off. I let her go, giving her some space.

"You are being ridiculous," Elena says, making me turn to her in shock.

"What?" I say, glaring at Elena now. How can she say that? We heard the same thing in there, right?

"And insecure, and stupid, but that doesn't change the fact that Matt's always gonna be in love with you and I'm always gonna be the backup!" Caroline says, looking like she was holding back tears.

Elena shakes her head. "You're not the backup."

"Yes, I am," Caroline snaps, "I'm Matt's Elena backup, I'm your Bonnie backup."

"Now it's about me and Bonnie?" Elena scoffs.

And there I had it. "You're missing the point, Elena!" I snap, making her turn to me, slightly put off. "Can you focus on the fact that Caroline is feeling insecure with her relationship right now? Matt's own mom has been making these comments ever since she got back, and now hearing what we just heard in there? Get some perspective and just!" I groan, curling my hands into fists. "Care about Caroline for just one minute!"

"Skye, it's fine," Caroline says, bringing me back from my moment of anger. "She doesn't get it. And why would she? She's everyone's first choice."

Elena stands there dumbfounded, unsure of what to say to that. Because it's true, she is everyone's first choice.

The sound of an engine makes us turn back towards the garage where Stefan drives the car out, Matt and Tyler both in the passenger seats. They all get out, looking quite chuffed with themselves.

"Piece of cake," Matt says, his grin falling after seeing how unenthusiastic Caroline was.

After assessing the situation for a moment, I praise the day Stefan was the only guy to have ever used his brain at this moment. "Hey, why don't you guys take it for a spin?" Stefan offers, chucking the keys to Matt. I hope Matt realises the opportunity he has.

"Seriously?" he says, sharing a grin with Tyler. Oh hell no.

I quickly elbow Tyler in the side, making me look down at me with furrowed eyebrows. Shaking my head, I hope beyond everything that Matt takes the hint. Take the damn hint...

Thankfully, my prayers were answered. "Caroline," Matt says, opening the door for her, like a gentleman. She steps in, and the pair drive off into the distance.

As Stefan wraps his arms around Elena, I turn to head back inside, still slightly peeved off.

It's thankfully warmer indoors, the cool autumn air getting to me a bit more than I cared for.

"Hey," Tyler says, pulling me to a stop, "You okay? Sounded kinda intense out there."

"Yeah, I'm fine, just..." I sigh, "Girls."

Opening his arm, I smile and let myself get a hug tonight too. It wouldn't be fair if we were the only ones who didn't get a hug. I close my eyes, allowing myself to have this moment of peace, enjoying it before it will inevitably be cut short.

"I'm sorry this wasn't actually the best date I promised you," Tyler says, pressing his cheek to the top of my head, rocking us back and forth gently.

"Don't worry about it," I said, keeping my arms wrapped comfortably around his waist. "We had fun, took one for the team. Somehow ended up on a triple date."

I feel him laugh before pulling back. "We're just that talented."

A thud from the corridor makes us stop in our joking, sharing worried glances before sneaking our way further into the house. The back door behind us opens and we quickly shush the four people coming in.

Stefan swiftly steps forward in front of all of us, stopping with a sigh. "Damon." We all turn the corner and what we see sends a sting through my chest.

"Mom?" Matt says in disbelief.

Kelly Donovan unwraps herself from Damon who groans in frustration, the pair of them looking like they have a few regrets.

The atmosphere was unbearably awkward.

I turn away from the scene, overhearing Matt say he was gonna take his mom home, and Tyler saying he could take Caroline home.

I keep telling myself that maybe something will happen between us, maybe he just needs more time to get over Katherine, and I don't want to be some one night stand or booty call to get through the days, but then why does it hurt so much?

I wonder, with that super hearing of theirs, can vampires hear a heartbreak?

* * *

**Wordcount: 5,241  
****Proofread?: Yee boi, well, good enough**

**A filler chapter? Mayhaps, but I have been kind of excited for this 'triple date' episode, if not for that sweet, sweet character development.**

**Let me know if you like these 'filler' character development chapters because I have fun writing them but I do want folk to enjoy it and not be disappointed in a chapter if it's mostly filled with just fun time shenanigans rather than the actual plot.**

_Replying_

**WPear - Hi! Thank you for leaving a cheeky wee comment, you have no idea how happy it made me ^.^ I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far! And if you think shenanigans are happening now, wait until the Originals show up. Now THAT is gonna be shenanigans.**


	21. Chapter 21 - Revelations

**A regularly scheduled update? It's more likely than you think. Almost. Okay, maybe a day out lmao.**

**Thank you to everyone who favourites, follows or leaves a wee review! Appreciate ya! Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

The tension in the room was, well. It sure was tense.

Matt quickly took his mom to the car, Tyler saying that he would make sure Caroline got home okay as he left. I feel bad for Matt, having to act as the parent essentially when he shouldn't have to.

The rest of us awkwardly make our way towards the door. Elena offering to drop Caroline off who reluctantly agrees. Maybe they'll make up over the car journey...hopefully they do. I check in with Caroline to make sure that that's okay with her, and she reassures me it's fine.

I close the car door behind her and go back indoors to grab my jacket as Elena and Stefan have a little romantic chat by the car.

Tyler, putting his jacket on, sees me come in and throws my own jacket at me. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah," I say, shrugging my jacket on quickly, "Let's get ice cream on the way home."

"Hold up, Skye."

Without turning around to face Damon, I close my eyes, I take a deep calming breath, hold it, and let it go. I can't deal with this right now.

"Look, man, we better go," Tyler says, pointing a thumb to the open door. "It's late and - "

"Go wait in the car," I hear Damon tell him, that tone of voice indicating...compulsion.

A blank look overcomes Tyler's face as he repeats Damon's words. Then he turns to look at me, saying, "I'll wait in the car."

Watching him turn around and leave, a spike of anger bursts inside me, emotions overwhelming, so when I turn around to face Damon, who is still quite drunk, it takes a lot in me not to go and smack him.

"What the hell?" I ask instead, waving to the open door, "Why'd you do that?"

"He wasn't going to leave and we need to talk," Damon replied, rolling his eyes. He really didn't care, huh.

I curl my hands into fists, glaring. "Stop. Compelling. My. Friends!"

Not wanting to have this conversation go on any further, I turn to leave, hoping that Elena and Stefan will see that I'm trying to escape from Damon but no. They don't notice anything outside their little romantic moment, and I don't manage to escape.

In fact, better yet, in the blink of an eye, I end up further in the house, back in the living room, parlour, whatever you wanna call it these days.

I sighed, giving in. Let's bite the bullet and get this over with I guess. I turn to Damon, crossing my arms over my chest. "What do you want?"

"Look," he starts, pouring himself a drink, offering one to me. I shake my head, he shrugs in response and downs it himself. "I know you're annoyed at me, getting drunk and making out with your friend's mom? Not one of my best moments."

"You also compelled one of my friends, again!"

"See, that I don't really care about as much," he says, taking a seat on the sofa, putting his feet up. "The jock is annoying."

I shake my head, "I'm warning you now, he will have vervain on him from this night forward, don't try that again after tonight."

"Aye, aye, captain."

"And stop calling him a jock! I can tell you were probably a jock sometime in your vampire career."

"Oh, career, huh?"

"You know what I mean!"

"No, not really, I'm kinda drunk, please explain it to me."

I let out a frustrated cry. I point a finger at him as he continues to cradle his drink, looking as if there's nothing wrong in the world at all. "You're infuriating!"

"Well," Damon starts, getting cut off by the sound of breaking glass.

The atmosphere immediately changes.

A dark-haired man, the same dark-haired man who had grabbed Elena at the Grill, had burst through the window and tackled Damon who manages to shove him off and he goes crashing back to the ground.

"What's going on in here?" Stefan asks, appearing from the doorway.

Before either of us can say anything, a woman appears from another window, crashing into me and pinning me to the wall in one move.

Thankfully, I only have to kick at her once before she's been thrown across the room. Choking slightly from the sudden impact on my throat, I look up to see the back of Damon's signature leather jacket.

A cry of pain is heard from Stefan, and the dark-haired man has him pinned to the floor, a huge chunk of glass shoved into his chest.

Damon moves and grabs the man, yanking him up and pinning him to the wall, proceeding to beat the living daylights out of him. I flinched as he continues to hit him, unable to tear my eyes away from the scene.

And while this was occurring, it isn't until the last moment where I feel a piece of wood poking my back that I manage to turn away, coming face to face with that dark-haired woman, a stake through her chest, a look of shock on her face as her body shuts down, turning grey.

She drops to the ground, and I nod at Stefan, who nods back.

And then a dark-haired man is flying through the Salvatore boarding house.

Thankfully it's not our dark-haired man, but the vampire intruder, who gets up quickly, looking ready for a rematch until he notices his companion, laying dead on the ground.

And then he's gone.

"Damn it," Damon curses.

"Yeah," Stefan agrees, hissing as he pokes at his wound, still bleeding. I forgot that his diet makes it harder for him to heal as quickly. "I remember them, they were in the tomb."

Hold up. "Hold up," I say, quickly piecing things together. "The tomb vampires that we supposedly sealed away? That Bonnie's grams died to seal away? Those vampires?"

Stefan nods, "Yup."

Damon sighs, "Great..."

The realisation hits hard, and I don't know whether to tell Bonnie now or later. I mean, she hasn't been responding to my messages, plus hearing this so soon after would...would that almost be cruel?

Okay, well, she isn't back yet. Hopefully, it won't be an issue, and she can just come back and never have to know about it because as far as she and the rest of the town know, there are no issues regarding vampires.

I nod my head and turn to the brothers. "I'm going home, I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Damon grabs my wrist as I turn to leave. "Skye, wait a - "

"I'm not mad, Damon," I tell him, gently pushing his hand off my wrist. He lets it drop. "Like I said, we'll talk tomorrow. I just need to go home after everything that's happened tonight..."

I can't quite read the look in his eyes, but he nods and turns to face one of the now broken windows, assessing the damage. I wonder if Tyler noticed any of this from outside...

Oh god, Tyler!

I rush to the front door, yank it open and breathe a sigh of relief when I see him still sitting in the car, his phone screen lighting up his face. He's okay, completely unaware of his surroundings which is only mildly concerning, but he's okay.

Before I get into the car, I take off my vervain bracelet. Once I'm seated beside Tyler who turns the radio down, I turn to him and grab his wrist.

"Woah, Skye, I thought you didn't want the full experience."

"Shut up," I said rolling my eyes and putting the vervain bracelet on his wrist. "This is for you. A thank you gift for overall the best date I've had all year, and for being a kickass friend."

He looks down at it, turning his wrist over a few times. "Thanks, Skye, but I'm not really one for jewellery- "

"Please," I interrupt, pleading with my eyes. "Just...wear it as much as possible."

Tyler gulps, probably wondering why I'm pressing this so seriously. He nods his head, adjusting the strap and tying it on. "Sure, no worries." He sniffs. "What's that smell coming from it?"

"It's this herb, really nice, will help keep you from stinking up the place."

"Aww, is that why you want me to wear it?"

"Well, duh. Not sure how much good it'll do but I couldn't sit by and do nothing."

"Ha ha," Tyler says sarcastically, starting the engine and beginning the drive home.

I check my phone, opening up my messages with Bonnie and seeing still no reply. She's probably fine, I keep telling myself. She lost someone important, she's just taking time for herself. But I still thought that she would want a distraction from her friends... Maybe she has no signal, or she forgot her charger or something?

Who knows...

I type out a message for her though, letting her know that I miss her, warning her on the girl drama, joking that we fall apart without her around. I really do miss her... I hope she's okay.

* * *

_Have you ever felt dread? Feeling that you were unprepared for an upcoming test, for forgetting your mom's birthday and having no time to go out and get anything, that type of dread, we've all felt that at some point in our lives. But not many experiences the dread you feel when you know that you're going to suddenly come to a horrible, bloody end. Or at least I hope not many have..._

_Anyway, that's how this dream begins, with that awful feeling in the pit of my stomach._

_The rest of the scene begins to spread, and somewhere in the back of my mind, I begin to question why I ever decided to leave for college, why I never just settled down somewhere with some sweet boy back home, why I took the cheaper accommodation, valuing saving money over comfort, over better security and why I agreed to let this man through the threshold._

_Maybe my roommate would still be alive. If I had just had the ability to say no. But now she lay on the floor, blood spilling from her neck onto the hardwood floor. I hear her choke on her own blood a couple of times as she desperately holds on to her life._

_And I know that will be me soon._

_"You know," the man said, his back facing me as he poured himself a drink. "I've had a really shitty week."_

_A lack of British accent caught my attention._

_"My supposed friend is trying to get me through this rehab thing, apparently I'm off the rails. I think that's a little harsh."_

_Despite there being no British accent, which seems to be prevalent in my dreams these days, I knew that voice. Had heard it a lot over the last few months in particular._

_"And you don't seem to have any good alcohol here, I mean, come on! I thought you college girls were supposed to be party animals!"_

_I don't think I could have spoken even if I wanted to._

_He smashes the glass on the wall, making me flinch as he then bends down and picks up my roommate who lets out a strangled cry._

_"I guess you'll have to do," he says, looking me in the eyes before taking a vicious bite out of her neck, feeding and feeding on her until I could see the life drain from her eyes._

_I'm able to close my eyes after that, not wanting to see when it'll be my turn when I hear not one but two thuds. Opening my eyes, I stare in horror as I see her head roll across the room._

_I'm unable to scream, although I'm sure I would if I hadn't been compelled. I'm sure I would have run by now if I could too, at least tried to fight back._

_Stefan's eyes, who I'm so used to seeing being so caring and concerned, are filled with mockery and strike fear into my gut as he steps over the body._

* * *

I wake up with a gasp, sitting up quickly and patting my neck for any wounds. After a quick assessment, I allow myself to relax.

"What the hell?" I groan, falling back into bed.

That was Stefan I definitely dreamed about, no joke about it, but he didn't act like Stefan. It felt too real to be just some dream, too focused and concise, meaning it had to of been a memory of sorts and...

God, Stefan killed me.

Well, not me right now me but me as in a past me. Oh god.

But he acted nothing like the Stefan I know now. The Stefan I know now is caring and thoughtful, and in control and would never do anything to hurt anyone unless he really had to.

I check the time and see it's late in the morning. No wonder I slept in after Mom's interrogation last night... She even agreed to give me a drink to get through it, what kind of woman, am I right?

Checking my phone next, I see still no response from Bonnie but a few messages from Caroline. She always was an early bird. Her messages are asking for advice on how to get through awkward parties which means she's probably spending the weekend with her Dad and his boyfriend's family.

I send a quick message letting her know to call me if it gets dire before getting up for a shower.

I've nothing planned for today, so I take my time, truly pamper myself and try to forget about any and all vampire business. That's the good thing about my house, it's currently a vampire-free zone. Well, aside from the fact that my parents both probably know and probably hate vampires but shhh, another thing to ignore for now.

I almost feel bad for future-me.

The first half of my day I spend watching my little brother try to make pancakes, trying to help and gaining a new bruise on my shin in retaliation. At least I got a few pancakes out of that trauma. I catch up on some homework while half-watching whatever movie my dad has on the tv, some old war film because of course, that's something dad's just like.

It isn't until a little later in the day when I'm sitting up in my room, making myself another vervain bracelet and still thinking about that dream from this morning, that I decide to bite the bullet and just go to the boarding house to talk to Stefan, and...I dunno, get some explanations?

The last dream or vision that I had with him in it, it seemed like we were friends. So the contrast from last time it honestly quite terrifying.

Now, if I knew that this visit would involve me having to travel through the rain to an empty house, having to phone up Stefan and being sent straight to voicemail, have to then phone up Damon and get yelled at for "blowing his cover" then I dunno if I would have come in the first place.

I refused to leave so soon after arriving though, it was getting worse outside and the least I was getting out of this visit was a ride home, damn it.

After I get settled in on the couch with a mug of hot chocolate, my phone starts ringing. Caller ID, problem child. Here we go.

_"Skye?"_

"You're out of marshmallows."

_"What do you...Are you at my house?"_

"Yeah, I...I have something I need to talk to Stefan about, I didn't realise you would all be out in this weather."

_"Well, not like we planned it."_

"What?"

_"Just stay there, we're on our way back. I'll explain everything then."_

"Okay," I said, only mildly confused. "See you soon." The call shut off with a beep

What a weird conversation.

Well, I'm not complaining. I get to stay cosy by the fire, wrapped up and enjoy my hot chocolate.

I take this time to consider how I'm going to approach this topic with Stefan because it can come off quite rude to just start a conversation with 'so I think you killed me in a past life' like, it really throws you into the deep end. I take a quick break to check a text from Tyler about how his dad is flirting with some new woman in town right in front of him. Yikes.

After sending a text back, I hear the sound of a car pulling up outside. Then the door opening and the sounds of three people coming into the house. Three?

Turning the corner came first Damon, then Stefan and Elena. Ah, I see I wasn't invited to this adventure. That's fine.

Considering how Stefan looks, well, how they all look, to be honest, I don't think I mind too much...

"Well, aren't you cosy," Damon says, upon seeing me lounging in his lounge. He promptly takes a seat across from me, leaning his head back with a sigh.

"The weather outside is frightful," I shrug, holding the mug up to my face, "But the fire - "

"Don't even think about singing Christmas songs, I've had a bad enough day already!"

I blink in surprise, turning to look towards Elena and Stefan still standing near the doorway awkwardly. I couldn't help feeling anxious with Stefan standing so close to Elena. I knew logically that he wasn't going to hurt her but that fear from this morning was creeping back...

"Well," I say, looking between the trio, none of them too enthusiastic. "What did I miss?"

The nervous looks each of them shared brought me no comfort.

"It's a long story..." Elena said, as if that explains the everything about them.

"Stefan here got kidnapped this morning," Damon piped up, bringing the attention back to him. This is what I like about him, he gets to the point. "We hired your history teacher by day vampire hunter by night to save him, and Stefan's broken his diet..."

You know when you open your mouth to say something and nothing comes out so you just end up sighing? Yeah.

"Okay," I nod, putting the mug down on the table beside me. "First of all, our history teacher, is he still alive?"

"Yeah," Elena says quickly, "Alaric is fine, we kind of owe him."

"Good, that man deserves a raise, I swear. Secondly, why wasn't I invited?"

I could practically feel Damon rolling his eyes at me. "Please, what could you have done?"

A brief pause as I try to come up with a legitimate answer. "Drove the getaway car..." I mumbled, crossing my arms over my chest.

"It wasn't exactly an event you wanted to be invited to, Skye," Elena sighed.

"That's easy for you to say, you got to go!"

Now it was Elena's turn to roll her eyes at me.

I decided to move swiftly on, turning around to face Stefan. "Alright then, thirdly, who kidnapped you? Was it that dude from last night?"

"Ding ding ding!" Damon cheers sarcastically, "Point to Skye!"

Rolling my eyes I try to hide a growing smile because your friend getting kidnapped by angry vampires isn't exactly a laughing matter, especially so soon after the event.

Stefan stepped further into the room, and I automatically sat up straighter. I need to relax, damn it. "There was a larger group of them, all from the tomb."

Despite my current hmm...not quite fear but caution, I still felt bad for what he must have gone through, that I wasn't there to help, that I didn't even know about it until now. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Stefan said, quite convincingly actually. "I'll be fine."

Before I can ask what exactly Damon meant by him breaking his diet, my phone loudly rang. Caller ID, CareBear. I quickly apologised before hopping out of the blanket I'd wrapped myself in, rushing into the kitchen to see how I could help Caroline with her awkward family event.

"Hello?" I answered cheerfully.

My attitude quickly changed as I heard her crying on the other end of the phone.

"Caroline, what's wrong, are you okay?"

_"Skye it's...oh god, this is the worst..."_

"Talk to me Care, what happened?" I asked, wondering which one of her extended family members are going to be getting an introduction to my fist.

_"It's Vicki."_

And my heart drops into my stomach.

_"I-I was driving in the storm a-and I got stuck and fell and I just...I just found her, her body and...oh god, Matt..."_

I wipe the tear that had just escaped, "Care, where are you, are you safe?"

_"I'm in Matt's bathroom. My mom has given them the news and...Matt asked me to let you guys know. Tyler's on his way over now if you could be here then please just..."_

"Yeah," I say, sniffing, "I'll be there soon, okay? Just...be strong for Matty, we'll be there soon."

I shut off the call, taking a second to catch my breath and recompose myself before I head back into the living room.

However, I should have known nothing goes unmissed in a house of super-hearing vampires.

Footsteps could be heard coming towards the kitchen from the living room...I mean, at least I'm not getting snuck up on in here!

Damon appears from around the corner, actually showing a rare moment of concern. "Why're you crying?"

"I'm not..." I sigh, why am I bothering to lie. "They found Vicki's body..."

"Ah..." he says, biting his lip.

A moment passes where I just try not to cry, thinking about how Caroline must have felt finding a goddamn dead body out in the dark, literally a horror movie, how Matt and his mom must be feeling now, finding out that Vicki isn't just on some wild adventure but she's dead and has been dead for a while now...

Don't cry...I don't have the right to cry about this, I knew about this, I was there for this, why am I crying?

"You know," Damon says interrupting my thoughts, "It's not your fault."

I blink in confusion. "What?"

He says it with such conviction. "Vicki's death is _my_ fault. Not yours."

"Yeah, but - "

"But nothing!" Damon comes forward and places his hands firmly on my shoulders, leaning down slightly so we're eye to eye. "You couldn't have done anything differently, you couldn't have known, and you couldn't have stopped her from dying."

I bit my lip to try and stop myself from crying, not quite believing it but nodding my head anyway. A hand reaches up from my shoulder to wipe a tear from my face.

"You're okay," he says with a sigh, pulling me into a hug. "You're okay..."

I stand there in the kitchen, letting tears fall as I take in the comfort, being selfish for just a moment.

"So, hey," Damon said, pulling back and brushing a strand of hair from my face. He smiles. "Mind telling me what you come over for?"

"Um..." I say, stepping back and wiping my tears. "I had another dream or vision thing."

"Oh?" Damon raised an eyebrow. "What we were doing this time?"

Gulping, I shook my head. "Actually...it was Stefan who was in the dream this time."

"Oh," he said, and it's like I could feel the room getting colder. "Well, of course it is, it was him you wanted to talk to, now that's a first."

"Actually - "

"So," he cut me off, acting less caring the longer this conversation seemed to go. "What was past you and Stefan getting up to? Anything you don't want Elena to hear?"

"Yes, but - "

"Oh, saucy."

"Damon!" I cried, my voice breaking. "He killed me."

Any semblance of that annoying joking manner was stopped after that. I looked behind him to the corridor, wondering if Stefan had overheard that. God, I hope not, I'd hate for him to learn about that from this.

That annoyed look came back over Damon's face, and I became worried.

"He didn't act like Stefan though," I added quickly, "Is there a chance that Stefan also has a doppelganger?"

Damon scoffs, "Not likely."

Running footsteps sounded and Elena rushed from around the corner, her eyes filled with sadness.

And I knew she'd also received the news.

"We have to go," she says, and I nod my head in agreement.

"This," Damon says, pointing a finger between me and him, "This isn't over."

* * *

The drive to Matt's house is quiet, the two of us processing the news internally. The late-night radio music plays quietly as Elena drives through the rain. I send a text to my mom, letting her know what's happened, that I'll probably be home late.

We arrive at Matt's house, and Matt falls straight into Elena's arms, sobbing.

My heart continues breaking as I spot Kelly in the living room, sitting next to Sheriff Forbes, staring off at the wall, tears streaking down her face, a look of disbelief on her face.

Tyler and Jeremy are sitting together at the kitchen table, not fighting for once in their lives. Caroline's stood by the sink, paused in washing the dishes. I place a hand on Tyler's should as I pass him, squeezing it gently, before walking up behind Caroline and wrapping my arms around her.

I feel her crying more than I hear. I can't imagine what it must have been like for her to find not only a dead body but the body of your boyfriend's sister...

That night we all stay in Matt's house, half of us end up lying on the floor once the sofa space was taken up. All of us there to wipe away each other's tears and bring comfort during this mourning period.

* * *

**Wordcount: 4,479  
Proofread?: I'm proud to admit this was written in only 2 sittings instead of 12, AND I read it over. So I hope it's adequate lmao.**

**Now, I did have different plans for this chapter, but what you read seemed a bit more realistic to be me. I'm really motivated to get through season 1 with TVD getting removed from the UK's Netflix, but if you think I'm rushing things too much then let me know :)**

**I just realised that I'm already over 20 chapters in and Katherine hasn't even appeared yet, never mind the Originals like. Whoops, my bad.**

_Replying to very lovely people_

**WPear - Thank you for reviewing! I'm glad you don't hate my very filler filled story ahaha. Skye and Tyler's friendship has become quite precious to me, and I hope to continue to portray it properly throughout the whole story. As for Original shenanigans, let's hope we get there within another 20 chapters lmao**

**Guest - Ahh! I'm so glad you like Skye and Damon's dynamic, writing romance is Hard for me so I'm doing my best to pace it properly and not have them suddenly in big love go go go. It's nice to know that no matter what happens that you're going to continue rooting for them. I really am so glad you're enjoying this story, I hope to do it justice. Thank you for leaving such a lovely review!**

**Beth - I absolutely take constructive criticism, pls hit me with it more often lmao. I apologise for that, there have been times where I just can't be bothered with a chapter anymore and just...yeet it out without much care. I'm trying to do better though, I actually reread this one properly before posting it! :D I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far, and my character Skye. Thank you so much for your review, and I'll keep in mind to do better!**


	22. Chapter 22 - Another Founder's Party

**Let's get this bread! Look at us with consistent updates! (For now...)**

* * *

Vicki's funeral passed, and things were slowly getting back to normal. Well, as normal as they can be now. It wasn't easy, but it was good to finally feel like there was a conclusion to the mystery that was Vicki Donovan. Matt and his mom can actually grieve now, and they won't have to wonder for years on end where she was and if she was ever coming back. That's at least one good thing I guess.

Not everything was normal though, Bonnie still wasn't back at school yet, but Matt was. He was hurting, obviously, and we all tried to be there for him. Everyone was dealing in different ways though.

Tyler had been spending more time with the stoner kids in school, meaning I had to cover for him a couple of times when he got too high to drive. If his parents found out then they would freak, and I fear what his dad would do if he caught him.

Caroline had to go talk to a therapist, her mom made her go after you know finding a dead body and all. Initially, she was a little apprehensive but after a session or two, I heard less about what a waste of time it was. But Caroline herself was pretty resilient, and she was more or less back to her planning and productivity.

I felt a little strange during this time. I'd already had time to mourn Vicki, to mourn the thought of Matt never seeing his sister again, yet when it all happened I wasn't ready. Because of this, I'd spent my time between the only people who knew of Vicki's death, who also seemed to feel this weird sense of guilt from knowing something that you shouldn't have.

Stefan was also absent from school still, after drinking Elena's blood, he apparently needed some time to detox. Elena and I became study buddies, she really needed to catch up on some things in school, but whenever she had to do an assignment on her own or we'd exhausted each other out, I'd turn to Damon.

Stefan doing whatever it was that he was doing was the reason why I couldn't go hang out at the boarding house with Damon, and because I refuse to make my house open to vampires, the pair of us became regulars at the Grill.

It was nice, spending time with Damon, especially since he was no longer drowning himself in alcohol. Of course, he still had the occasional drink, but I wasn't worried about him flying off the rails anymore. Plus, he was working more with the founder's council these days, doing his best to secure his place and it really makes me think he wants to stay.

And it's always good to have someone who has lived through history to help you with your history homework.

"You know, I think you're using me."

"Hardly. Stefan was a much better study buddy."

"Hold on now, let's see the question again?"

I passed the sheet of paper across the table to Damon, smiling as I see his eyebrows furrow as he reread the question, shaking his head.

"What is it now?" I asked.

He passed it back across the table, looking kind of huffy. "Why are they even asking you stuff like this? Who cares about what happened in the 50s? The 50s sucked."

"What were you doing in the 50s then?" I asked, taking the piece of paper back from him.

"Oh," Damon sighed, taking a long drink. "This and that."

Something made me think he didn't want to talk anymore on that, so with a side-glance, I nod my head and get back to doing the questions. I only had a couple more things to write down anyway. Plus, I can always check it later before handing it in tomorrow.

If I remember that is. Whoops.

Speaking of remembering, well, I still haven't managed to talk to Stefan about that vision dream thing I had about him seeing as he's put himself in lockdown. Well, maybe Damon will know something...

I twirled my pen between my fingers before setting it down. "Can I talk to you about something?" I asked him nervously.

A curious look comes over his face, a raised eyebrow, interest definitely peaked. "By all means."

I nod my head, unable to really look at him as I speak. "So, that vision thing I had with Stefan killing me..."

"Ah," Damon said, pursing his lips. He filled his glass up and then passed it towards me. "You're gonna need this."

It was hardly the right time of day, but the subject called for it.

"Thanks," I said, taking a sip and cringing. "Well, where to begin? He managed to make his way into my apartment, my roommate at the time was killed right in front of me, her head practically rolled out the door, and when I heard that Stefan had drunk Elena's human blood that night, something in my subconscious just screamed 'oh no' so...I don't think I'm missing anything I'm just confused."

"Ah," Damon said again, this time taking the glass back and finishing the rest of his drink.

Raising an eyebrow, I stared him down. "You know something."

He nodded his head. "Yup."

"And by," I indicated to him filling the glass up again, "that reaction, something tells me this isn't exactly a good thing." Damon gave me a cheeky smile in response before finishing his drink and then filling it up again. "Oh, wow, really not good."

"You only know the half of it."

"Mind filling me in?"

"Long story short, some past version of you appears to have come into contact with Stefan who at that time I assume was in ripper mode."

"Ripper mode?" I ask, not liking the sound of that. "What's that?"

"It means that when he feeds, he doesn't stop," Damon explains, making me freeze. "He's trying to do a detox now and get back on his bunny diet but well...we'll see."

Thinking about how things were when Vicki first turned, things started making a little more sense. Vicki was an addict, emotions get heightened after you become a vampire, meaning...

"...Stefan knew that Vicki...that's why he pushed for the animal diet as soon as..."

"Yeah," Damon sighed. "She probably would have become a ripper too."

I almost regretted bringing it up but it was nice to know, I like having as much knowledge as possible when it comes to these visions of mine, I hate not knowing what's going on, and it happens too often for my liking.

I keep seeing the same people in these dreams; Damon, Stefan, even Katherine, but these other people...I've never seen them before.

Well, I mean, worth a shot.

"One more thing," I say, breaking the silence. "Do you know any...British people?"

Damon raises an eyebrow, giving me a deadpanned look. "Like, just in general or?"

"I seem to also have had a few visions with some folk with British accents. In fact, it seems I hear more of their accents than I do any other accent..." I trailed off, staring off to the side. "I can't believe the British have invaded my mind..."

"Somehow I can, they invaded enough over the years. Well, long live the queen," he says. I roll my eyes and give him a look. He gives after a couple of seconds. "No, I don't know any British people."

"Does Stefan?"

"I dunno."

"Can you ask him?"

"Don't you have homework to do?" Damon asks, giving me that smirk that says he isn't quite irritated but he's getting there.

I give him a grin back and get to work.

Not even two minutes pass before I'm setting my pen down again, causing Damon to sigh.

"What?" I said, trying to hold back a smile.

"What is it now?"

Unable to hold back any further, I grin and grab a menu, placing it in front of him. "I'm hungry, let's order something."

Damon gives me a look before picking the menu up to have hardly a glance at it. "How come when I'm hungry we have to wait, but when you're hungry it has to be right here right now?"

"Because when you're hungry someone else has to be the meal," I said, giving him a deadpanned look. "And considering I'm usually the closest 'someone else' for at least a minute, hmm, not negotiable."

"Come on," he smirks, shrugging his shoulders, "You let me have a nibble that one time."

God, I should have known this would have come bit me in the ass someday.

With a fake smile on my face, I leaned across the table. "Hope it was a nice nibble because you aren't having any more any time soon. So just enjoy whatever you want off this menu."

We order a couple of small sharing platters, I pack up the homework, and small talk ensues.

"So, are you going to this Founder's event?" Damon asks.

I groan, "God, another one?"

"I know right, you'd think there'd be less these days but no, you folk really seem to love 'em."

"I'm gonna try to get out of it," I say, shaking my head. "I can't be bothered."

Damon scoffs, "Good luck with that, founding family member."

Despite the attitude, he was right. This wasn't going to be easy, but I'm not a quitter.

* * *

"Absolutely not."

"Dad!"

"Your mother has already picked out our clothes."

"Uh!"

"Plus, it's the 150th anniversary," my dad says, actually somehow managed to sound excited. "Not very often this happens."

I sighed, turning back to head into the kitchen. Well, that didn't go well... I'll try again later.

* * *

"Mom, I'm not feeling too great..."

"Don't even try it."

"Mom, please! Can't I just pretend to be sick?

"Afraid not, sweetie. Go get ready now."

Well, it was worth a shot.

* * *

So I went and got ready into nice, black skater dress with a little bit of lace around the middle. Cute, but still respectable for a Founder's party. I shrugged my leather jacket over the top of it and headed down the stairs to meet the rest of my family, all still getting ready in some way or another.

Kieron and my dad were both fidgeting with their ties, my mom was finishing her makeup in the downstairs bathroom, giving me just enough time to head into the kitchen and snatch one of the small bottles of vodka that you get on plane journeys. With the amount of travelling my dad does, there's no way they can keep track of all of them.

Well, hopefully not.

"Skye," my mom called, making me stand up and head straight to the biscuit cupboard. If I'm getting in trouble for something, I'd prefer it to be over a biscuit.

"Yeah?"

"Remind me we have to go shopping for a dress this weekend, Miss Mystic Falls is coming up," she finished, and I knew I was in the clear but also...not quite.

"Oh boy," I sighed, leaning against the counter, "I forgot about that."

My mom scoffed, I could practically see her face as she said, "You could sound a bit more excited about it..."

"They haven't even announced the names yet," I said, thinking and hoping rationally, "Maybe I won't get picked!"

"Oh please, don't act dense," she said appearing around the corner, putting earrings in. "You know all founding families will get accepted. Now, have you asked Tyler to be your partner yet?"

Rolling my eyes I crossed my arms over my chest, "So I'm not allowed to choose anybody else?"

"Absolutely not!" I should have expected that. "If you want a chance of winning you're going to need his help."

There is no way I want to win this thing.

"Of course..."

"Come on, let's go! We're pushing fashionably late!" she calls, grabbing her jacket and heading out the door.

I vaguely hear Kieron say something about how it was her we were waiting on before dad told him not to say that to her in the car.

Well, here we go again, another Founder's event...somehow, with all these supernatural things coming to Mystic Falls, these events have become a lot more, well, eventful compared to the previous years.

Wonder what's gonna happen tonight...

* * *

We walk into the house as a family, greeting anyone that we need to to keep up appearances before I'm eventually allowed to go our separate ways and I can walk around until I find one of my friends.

The first ones I come across happen to be the boys, Tyler and Matt, sneaking off around a corner meaning they're either secret lovers, or they're up to something.

I follow the pair around the corner, not rushing to avoid detection, coming up behind them to see Tyler standing with a large bottle of whiskey, clearly from his dad's stash.

Dramatically, I close the doors behind me, loud enough to make the boys jump but hopefully not loud enough to distract the other people outside.

"Your dad's gonna kill you if he sees you with that," I say, moving to join them in the centre on the room.

"Well then," Tyler says, twisting the cap of the bottle off, "he better not see me, huh."

I shake my head at his reckless attitude, expecting it from him by now.

What surprises me is Matt. "...fuck it, pass it here," he says, grabbing the bottle from Tyler and taking a couple of significant gulps, kind of shocking Tyler and I.

"Matt!"

Tyler holds a hand up as Matt continues to practically chug half the bottle.

"Well," I say, pulling my tiny bottle of vodka from my jacket pocket as Matt finally comes up for air. "I'm not sharing."

"Cheers," Matt says, passing the bottle to Tyler, giving me the chance to cheers with him.

And so the night begins.

* * *

The three of us drank in that room, draining basically the whole bottle, feeling a good buzz and ready to face the night ahead of us. I do have to say that it has been pretty uneventful, which is surprising in our climate of supernatural activities. I'm not complaining, I'm just cautious.

Walking into the room and hearing that the music had changed to something upbeat was the first indication that tonight wasn't going to be unordinary.

Again, wasn't complaining, but was a bit of a shock.

Matt promptly found Elena and began dancing with her on the dance floor, and it made me smile seeing that he could still enjoy himself.

Tyler responded by giving me a bow that somehow looked sarcastic and offering me a hand. I take it with a half-mocking curtsy and we head to the dance floor where we do our best not to trip over each other's feet, keeping an eye out for our parents. Don't want to get caught drunk now, do we?

Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Tyler's mom coming in, obviously hearing the change in music.

I pat Tyler's arm, and we make our grand escape towards the nearest exit, which just so happens to come out at the bar.

We split up to avoid detection, and I accidentally bump into the back of someone by accident. As I'm about to apologise to them, I realise I recognise that dark hair, and then the face that gives me a smirk.

"Well, aren't you a bit underage?" Damon says, wrapping an arm around my and leading me to lean against one of the tall tables that you need a high chair to sit at but because this is a fancy event you just stand around them. He leans down to whisper in my ear, "Parents at nine o'clock, do _not _turn around."

Despite the slightly drunken curiosity, I did as was told, keeping my head forward, leaning against Damon's side as he cradles a drink of his own.

"So, having fun?"

"Not as much as you, clearly," he replies, peering over the top of my head to keep an eye on I assume the parentals.

"Kill anybody yet?"

"Not yet."

"There's still time."

"Of course," Damon said, turning back to give me that not quite smile of his. "Cheers!"

I nodded my head to the beat of the song in the other room, sad now that I couldn't dance to it since Tyler had taken off and neither of us was too keen on the million photos in front of a big crowd that would take place.

"Well, is there anything or anyone I should look out for?" I ask, wanting to be prepared in case something happens tonight.

"Well," Damon says, his arm I realise no longer hanging off my shoulder but around my waist. Oh, well, wait I should be paying attention! "...John, a little bit creepy in my opinion, so aside from him I see no other issues."

"Wait, as in Gilbert? John Gilbert?" I asked.

He sighed, "Were you not listening?"

I pouted, "I listened. Just only halfway through."

"Yes," he said, rolling his eyes. "Elena's uncle, John Gilbert is back in town and raising suspicion of Voldemorts, which isn't exactly good news for us."

I shake my head, "No it is not. But thanks for the warning, I didn't realise he was back. Never really liked him..."

At that moment I spot Elena coming in from the dance floor and make a beeline straight for us. She sends a strange look my way, mainly to the arm that is still wrapped comfortably around my waist, keeping Damon and I joint at the hip. It was comfortable, nice...

Oh boy, she doesn't look happy though.

"Have you noticed what your brother's been up to?" she says.

"Did Kieron kick you?" I ask before sighing, rubbing my forehead. "I'm sorry, it seems to be a phase he's going through, it's effective at getting what he wants so it's probably - "

"No, Skye, I meant Stefan."

"Oh."

"Well then," Damon said, and I avoid his amusement from my slightly embarrassing outburst. It's fine. We're fine. I can practically feel myself heating up under his arm now. Great. "I've been too busy dealing with Jeremy to notice what my brother has been up to."

Elena looks taken aback, "What's Jeremy been doing?"

"Been asking questions about Vicki Donovan's death," Damon replied and then proceeded to put on some annoying voice to imitate Jeremy which was actually kind of spot-on, "_Oh but sheriff, someone buried her, who would do that?_ I know! I know! Me!"

"Shouldn't he not be asking questions if he's been compelled?" I asked.

"I mean, I could do it again but he's wearing vervain now," Damon said.

Elena shook her head. "No, I don't want him compelled again. I'll deal with it."

"Then deal with it quickly," he said impatiently, "Because if he keeps asking questions..."

"It'll be fine," she said stubbornly, picking up her purse and walking away.

Leaving me alone with...ah.

I feel Damon's arm slip from around my waist, allowing us to have some room between us. I say that, but neither of us really move far from each other.

"She's a bit rude tonight," Damon said.

I laugh, shaking my head. "She's just concerned about her brother, you could do the same."

"Oh ya?"

"Ya."

"Well, where's your little brother?"

"With my parents," I said, crossing my arms over my chest. "Probably."

"Wrong," Damon said with a condescending smile.

Furrowing my eyebrows in confusion, before I can ask what he means I feel small arms wrap around my middle.

"Skye!"

Oh, brother.

"Kieron," I say with a grin, glancing towards Damon who continues to stand beside me happy as can be. Why is he still standing there? If Kieron is with my parents then won't they wonder why we're so close? We're only supposed to know each other through Stefan who I technically know through Elena. Thankfully, no parents in sight. "What's up? Where's mom and dad?"

"They said to go find you," he said before turning to look up at Damon, giving him a toothy grin. "Hi, do you remember me?"

"Do I remember you? Of course, I remember you," Damon says in a voice I've only heard him use to mock people, that voice you use with kids to make things seem more exciting. "You were super brave, how could I forget?"

Kieron sucked this up, his grin somehow widening and he looked up at me all giddy after hearing that. It was nice to see him smile, especially with everything that happens.

"So, do you have a best friend?"

Oh no, no, no, no -

"Hm, what's that?" Damon asks, playing along.

"Well," Kieron says seriously as I wonder where's he's going with this. "A best friend is someone who you want to spend all your time with, so Tyler is my best friend, have you met Tyler?"

Damon glances at me as if for confirmation and I nod my head with a sigh. I can't believe he's referred to him as a jock enough he's forgotten his name.

"Spending time with Tyler is my favourite, meaning he is my best friend. So," Kieron says, crossing his arms over his chest and giving Damon what appears to be a glare. "Who is _your_ best friend?"

In response, Damon also crosses his arms and pretends to think. "Well, isn't Tyler a little old to be your best friend?"

"You're right," Kieron nods, "Which is why he pretends to be Skye's best friend." I roll my eyes at that little comment. "So I was just wondering, are you Skye's real best friend?"

I can't believe kids can just go around and ask things like this, but why am I feeling embarrassed? I can't believe Damon hasn't laughed yet, this is ridiculous.

"Yeah, I guess she is," Damon says.

And I stop to blink, hearing him answering seriously.

He didn't actually...what?

I'm broken out from my sudden moment of disbelief by hearing Kieron cheer and giving Damon a hug, seeming to shock him too.

It's quite amusing to watch Damon awkwardly pat a happy babbling child on the back, making me giggle behind my hand. It isn't often that you get to see an awkward Damon.

Kieron, as quickly as he had appeared, disappeared saying he was going to find Mom and Dad to ask when we could leave.

And once again I was left alone with Damon.

"Kids, huh," I shrug, saying perhaps the most generic thing ever.

"Straight to the point and honest," he said, playing with the empty glass on the table, avoiding eye contact. "Not the worst people to have conversations with."

I nod in agreement, biting my lip and wondering if I should take off and find someone else to talk to, maybe Tyler, haven't seen him in a while and I would hate for him to get caught.

I point back to where I had seen Tyler leave before. "I'm gonna go see if I can find Tyler, make sure he stays out of trouble. I'll see you later?"

"Yeah," Damon says, standing up straighter as I took a step back. "Stay out of trouble yourself."

"No promises," I reply, giving him a cheeky grin before leaving.

* * *

And so I went on my search for Tyler, doing a quick sweep of the floor before coming up short. I end up bumping into Matt and Elena though, and it's nice to see that Matt's been enjoying himself.

"Skye," he says, bringing me into a bone-crushing hug which I try and fail to match. He pulls back with that dopey smile, "Having fun? Have you seen my mom about?"

I shake my head, "Haven't seen her, I was looking for Tyler actually, seen him?"

"Afraid not," Matt says.

"We're going out for some fresh air, come with?" Elena offers, buttoning up her jacket.

"Sure," I say, following them out.

Who'd have thought that we'd both find our missing persons out here?

The three of us stood in shock as we watch Tyler and Matt's mom have a full-on make-out session.

"Oh my god," Elena breathes.

Matt grabs Tyler off his mom, angrily asking what the hell is going on. And Tyler, not the smartest out there, asks him to chill out. This, coming from Tyler? Bit of a hypocritical comment if you ask me.

And, not surprisingly, Matt punches Tyler across the face. Tyler punches back, and suddenly we have a fight on our hands!

"Stop it!" Elena cries out from beside me, holding onto Kelly Donovan looking shocked at the fight that's broken out.

Neither of the boys seems to hear her as they continue to roll and punch each other. Eventually though, Tyler gains the upper hand and continues to land punches on Matt's face.

"Tyler! Stop!" I yell, making a grab for his arm when he drew back once more.

I manage to grab a hold and momentarily stop him from laying another one on Matt until he violently shakes me off and I go stumbling back into a table, knocking over a bunch of glasses which smash around me.

Thankfully Alaric comes running down and is able to yank Tyler off Matt who was getting choked! The mayor comes along and sends Tyler off to get fixed up, sending the rest of the party inside.

As Elena checks on Matt who is beaten to a bloody pulp, I get to my feet and flinch as I feel glass digging into my hands. Damnit! Thankfully it didn't dig deep enough to cut through skin, a couple of scrapes I can deal with.

"Skye," Elena says once she and Matt are on their feet. "You okay? You're bleeding!"

"I'm what?" I say and then blink as a drop of red passes down my forehead. "Ah."

"Come on," Matt says, reaching down and helping me up by the arms, "Let's go get cleaned up."

The three of us stumble back inside, this time through a less crowded door, not wanting to bring attention to our current state. Unfortunately, I get immediately spotted by my mom...

No vampire quick fix for me I guess.

She takes me over to one of the more secluded rooms, handing me a bottle of water and a napkin before going to get a first aid kit. Before I can tell her Matt probably has it since his injuries are worse than me, she's off.

I sigh and proceed to hold the napkin to my forehead. I haven't even had a chance to look in the mirror yet to assess the damage. Thankfully the wound seems to have stopped bleeding too much.

Hearing footsteps, I expect to see my mom so imagine my surprise when I see Stefan instead. I feel bad, this is the first time I've spoke to him this whole party and I haven't seen him in ages.

"Hey, are you alright?" he asks.

"Yeah," I say, taking to napkin off my forehead and folding it. "Eventful night."

"Yeah..." he agrees, seeming to be distracted. And that's when I realise oh, the blood. Stefan fresh off his rehab and near blood.

"Well," I say, trying to distract him, bringing him to focus on the conversation and not my wound, hoping that my mom will come back to shoo him away. Or, better, that Damon will come around the corner take him away. "How have you been? Haven't seen you in school, let me tell you, you haven't missed much. One of the football guys came out though, and most of the team are chill with it, isn't that great?"

Stefan nods his head and takes a seat beside me, still looking really distracted.

Too scared to move now, and unsure what to say, I sit still as Stefan swipes blood that had dripped onto my brow, seemingly in a trance as he stared at it on his hand. My heart continued to beat heavily in my chest, despite my head knowing that it probably wasn't helping our situation.

At this point, I was kind of terrified to move.

I was too far away from the party that I could foreseeably reach someone that could help in time, and even if I did then there's always the risk of exposing Stefan as a vampire if he continues to act like this.

"Stefan?" I say gently and it seemed to snap him out of his trance. He looked between his hand, the wound on my head and then finally me. For the first time since he sat down, I actually felt like he saw me.

"Are you okay?" I ask nervously, tilting my head away from him.

"Yeah, I'm sorry I just...I'm gonna go," Stefan says, standing up and hurrying out the room, looking beyond guilty as he turns away.

I sigh, leaning back against the wall and closes my eyes as I feel a headache approaching.

"Skye?"

Ah, speak of the devil.

"Hey, Damon," I greet with a smile, spotting him standing at the entrance, actually looking concerned. "Almost perfect timing."

"What the hell happened to you?" he asks, putting his drink to the side before kneeling in front of me and pushing a couple of stray hairs off my face.

I shrugged, "Eventful night, it was an accident. No big deal."

He hesitates before beginning to undo his wrist cuff. Knowing where he was going with this, I grab his wrist to stop him, shaking my head.

"Mom's already seen the cuts, don't wanna look sus," I say, making him sigh, lowering his head. Damn, his hair looks so soft. If my hand didn't have blood on it right now, and it wasn't in the middle of a fancy party...

"So," he says, and raises his head to look at me. "What happened?"

"Tyler and Matt had a fight because Tyler made out with Matt's mom..."

"And you decided to get into the middle of a jock brawl?"

"...maybe."

Damon sighs, pulling himself up to take a seat beside me. "Remind me to teach some self-defence."

"I know self-defence, Lana...taught me..." I trail off. Man, it's been a while since I thought of her...

"Well then," Damon says, bringing the attention back to him. "I'll teach you some offence, how about that?"

"Sounds good," I say happily, leaning back against the wall.

A beat passes before Damon reaches forward and gently takes my hand. I stare at our joined hands, wondering what he's doing only to see him looking straight at me, this unreadable look on his face. I can feel my heart in my chest again, this time for a different reason, and I start worrying that he can hear it, that he can do this by simply holding my hand.

"I was telling the truth, earlier on," he says, pushing a strand of hair from my forehead that had fallen once more. "There aren't many people in this town that I like, less that I trust. Out of everyone, you are probably the only person I actually enjoy spending time with. So, if I seem worried about you at all then please...don't tell anybody."

I laugh and squeeze his hand. "Your secrets safe with me."

One of them rare but genuine smiles appears on his face as he says, "And...thanks, for making my time here tolerable."

As much as I'm enjoying this simple bit of affection off Damon, very rare indeed, we do have bigger fish to fry.

"Damon," I say, having to take my hand back so I can turn and face him properly. "Your brother was acting a bit funky earlier."

He raises an eyebrow. "A bit funky how?"

"A bit funky as in that last dream I had of Stefan funky," I said, hoping he understood what I meant.

The fact his mouth makes an 'o' shape, I figure that he does. "Damnit, Stefan..."

And speaking of bigger fish, there comes my mom around the corner with another first aid kit...

Thankfully the conversation is only half awkward and Damon bids us goodnight, very politely, very gentlemanly, leaving me to the mercy of my mother who has no issue in asking me, "Isn't he a bit old for you?"

Oh boy, if only she knew the full story.

* * *

**Wordcount: 5,582  
****Proofread: idk you tell me :P**

**Boi o boi, I'm excited for next chapter! Miss Mystic Falls, here we come!  
I did a lil bit to set it all up for next chapter, but we'll see what happens, won't we?  
**

**I didn't mean for this chapter to have a whole lot of Damon in it but I guess we got Damon on the mind huh.**

**Anyway, if you enjoyed, even just a lil bit, pls write a cheeky wee review, it keeps my serotonin and motivation up. Hope everyone reading is doing alright and staying safe. See you next time!**


	23. Chapter 23 - Miss Mystic Falls

**WE GOT A NICE AND BIG CHUNKY CHAPTER!**

**Don't forget to leave a review! Lot's is gonna happen! I feel like I'm getting into the swing of things now, Season 1 is definitely coming to a close soon. But now? Miss Mystic Falls!**

* * *

I missed the rest of the Founder's Party after my mom patched me up, my family and I just heading home after an already eventful night. However, Damon caught me up on what happened later, mainly that uncle John Gilbert is fully aware of the tomb vampires situation, and that Damon and Stefan are also vampires.

Oh yeah, Damon also killed him so there's that.

He had one of those rings like Alaric did though which meant that hey, at least he wasn't permanently dead so Elena doesn't lose _another_ family member, but now Damon's pretty much put a target on himself.

You know, I think I'm starting to understand his alcoholic tendencies.

And I'm starting to wonder how I didn't turn to alcohol this weekend with how many shops I had to go to with my mom to find that oh so perfect dress for Miss Mystic Falls. The contestants are supposed to be revealed today, and something tells me that I'm going to be on it. Great, what a drag.

But as I'm walking up to school, I see a face I haven't seen in a while, a wild Stefan, standing next to that very cool car of his which he apparently never drives. The boot of his car is open as I'm approaching and I wonder how he manages to fit anything into such a small space.

"Hey, stranger," I say, making Stefan jump and slam the boot down quickly. "Careful, didn't you just get her fixed?"

"Sorry, Skye," he says, smiling apologetically. "You just scared me is all."

I raised an eyebrow. "Me? Scaring a vampire? Now that's a new skill."

We start heading into school as a bell rings, announcing that we are probably going to be late if we don't hurry now.

"I'm sorry about the other night," Stefan says, looking quite guilty. "I was still trying to get a hang on this..."

"Don't worry about it," I say, shaking my head. "It must be tough, but you're back now so you must be doing good, right?" He nods his head, and I grin. "Now, I don't know if Damon asked you this for me, but do you know any British people?"

"British people?"

"Yeah."

"...why?"

"Come on, Stefan, it's an easy question to answer."

"I mean, probably."

"Do you know their names? What they look like?"

"I don't remember."

"What do you mean you don't remember?"

"Well, I'm not sure I personally know any British people."

"You just said you did, though!"

"I mean, I've probably met someone British in my time."

"Uh!"

Stefan and I make it just in time before Alaric closes the door, having to abruptly end our discussion but promising Stefan this isn't the end. I spot Elena send him a confused look as I'm heading to the back to take my seat next to Tyler who Matt is still promptly ignoring.

Oh boy...

"I think Matt hates me..." Tyler whispers as Alaric starts getting ready to teach the class.

"I mean...did you really have to kiss his mom?" I sighed, feeling myself practically deflating with having to ask that question. This isn't exactly what I wanted to be discussing first thing in the morning.

"God, I didn't mean to..." Tyler said, pushing a hand through his hair in frustration. "But you know what? Damon's done it too!"

I send him a bewildered like because "What has that got to do with our current climate?"

"It's just - "

And then the door opens, and in comes a face I definitely haven't seen in awhile, Bonnie!

I give her a grin and a wave as she makes her way to her seat, but she obviously doesn't see it since she didn't respond. Cry. Oh well, she's back! It's great to have the whole gang coming back together again.

Alaric teaches us about the importance of Founder's Day and its history, quite salty because it means he was interrupted in teaching World War II. As soon as the class is over, Bonnie is the first one out, giving me no chance to say hi or give her a hug or anything.

Pouting slightly, I head to my next class, figuring she probably just wants to get there early since she's missed a lot already. I'll see her at lunch time at least.

But when lunchtime comes along, Elena and I have to practically chase her down for her to even look at us, never mind speak to us.

This is when I get that funny feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"How have you been? How's your family?" Elena asks her.

"We're dealing," Bonnie says, shrugging. "It's been hard."

"We missed you," I said, wanting to wrap my arms around her but getting the vibe that that isn't what she would want right now.

"Everybody did," Elena added.

"After Gram's funeral, I just had a lot to deal with," Bonnie explained, "Plus after you told me that the tomb's spell failed, I didn't really want to come back."

Hearing that, I elbowed Elena making her flinch.

"Skye!"

"You told her?" I glared.

"It's fine, Skye," Bonnie said, a small smile on her face, "I needed to know what I was coming back to, I guess...I just wish I didn't..."

"Bonnie!" a voice called out, and in the distance, Caroline appeared. "Bonnie! Thank god you're home!" She threw her arms around Bonnie as soon as she reached her, who I catch smiling, a real genuine smile. "I know we spoke every day but I missed you!"

That made Elena and I look at each other in confusion, wondering how Bonnie had apparently been responding to every one of Caroline's messages and calls, yet none of ours. Well, none of mine, very minimal of Elena's.

Had I done something wrong?

"How are you doing?" Caroline asks, pulling back.

"Better," Bonnie replies, "Just, you know, glad to be back. Trying to keep myself busy."

"Well, I can help with that," Caroline says, excited. "Major wardrobe confab needed asap! You need to help me pick the perfect dress for the founder's court."

Well, looks like the results are out, and Caroline - also one of the founding families - is also on the list, who'd have thought? I have no hope of getting out of this...

But...maybe I can use my position to help Caroline, I mean, with how invested she is already and her usual competitive nature,

"The founder's court?" Elena asked, furrowing her eyebrows and looking between the group. "Am I missing something?"

"Miss Mystic Falls?" I offer and can see the dots connecting.

"The list was released today and us three are on it," Caroline says, and I can practically feel her competitive attitude rolling off her.

I groan, already knowing I would but still disappointed.

"Well, you have my vote, Care," I say, giving her a thumbs up and making her grin.

Elena shook her head, "I completely forgot about that, we signed up for it so long ago."

"Oh," Caroline says, looking hopeful, "Does that mean you're dropping out?"

With a kind of guilty look on her face, Elena shakes her head. "I can't."

"No?"

"Her mom was the one who wanted her to enter," Bonnie explained, and we nod in understanding.

Well, on that note...

"Let the competition begin, right?" I smile, hoping to keep the time up to the competition friendly.

* * *

_"Ladies," a dark-haired handsome gentleman says, holding a hand out towards his companion. "Allow me to introduce you to my brother..."_

_My friend curtsies first, allowing the blonde man to take her hand and press a gentle kiss to the back of it. I copy her actions as his attention turns to me, my heart beating wildly in my chest._

_Who would have thought with our quite humble beginnings that we'd end up in such a fancy place? At least they weren't aware of our past, I guess that's the best part of starting fresh in a new country..._

_The song changed and the gentleman from before turned to my friend, offering her his hand. "May I have this dance?"_

_She smiled coyly, placing a hand in his. "You may."_

_And as they leave to dance, I can't help but feel a twinge of jealousy, a small part of me feeling hurt for some reason. Why do I feel this way, about a man I've only just met tonight? I have no right to feel that way._

_"What do you say, love?" the man I was just introduced asks me, a slight smirk on his face. He offers me his hand, similar to how his brother had just moments ago. I got a very different feeling off him though._

_Something in my gut told me not to deny him this simple request._

_So I placed my hand in his and allowed him to lead us towards the crowd of other dancers, taking one hand in mine and placing the other on my waist. And we dance, swaying back and forth to the music, allowing him to take the lead and move me around to the beat of the band playing._

_As we dance, I see him staring at our joined hands, and I begin to wonder what's caught his interest when I see my sleeve has moved enough for him to see the strange mark on my wrist that I've had since I was born._

_His grip on me tightens almost painfully, making me flinch and regret agreeing to this dance. I begin to wonder if this mark offended him in some way if this was his reaction. I know of some who called it the mark of the devil..._

_"Love," he says, drawing me attention. I look up at him and find myself unable to look away. "You're going to keep this mark better hidden after tonight, understand?"_

_"I understand..."_

* * *

"No, no way."

"You think you have a choice in this? I don't! Therefore, neither do you!"

"This isn't fair!"

"I know it isn't! But it is the life we must lead."

"Maybe we should run away..."

"They'll send the cops on us, you know that."

"I think we could make it."

"We wouldn't stand a chance, they'd catch us!"

"Maybe that's a risk we're going to have to take..."

"You two are so dramatic," Mrs Lockwood said as she entered the room Tyler and I was currently in, taking a break from studying to talk about the next event coming up. She dropped off some sliced fruit on the table which I immediately started picking at. "I'm surprised it's only Skye that took up drama."

"Mom, I think I'll be coming down with something the day of that Miss Mystic Falls event," Tyler said to her, rubbing his throat and pretending to cough.

She rolls her eyes, "Don't even try it if you even think of dropping out at the last minute you can kiss that gaming console and phone goodbye."

Tyler groans, falling back onto the sofa as his mom leaves the room, defeated.

I figured I had to break the news to him sooner or later, and well, the day before the preparations start kicking off was the best time I figured.

Now that it looks like we've come to a bit of a break in our maths homework, I'm so happy for this sliced fruit. I'm getting excited about dinner. I think Mom said something about lasagne, so good I can already taste it...

"Do you think if I pretend to be gay for a month they'll stop trying to set us up?" Tyler muttered, sitting up on the sofa.

I shake my head. "Something tells me they'd try even harder to get us together."

"Damnit."

"Listen, at least it's only like a day for you, I've got all these interviews and dance practices to attend."

"You know, I have to attend the dance practices too."

"...oh yeah."

"Yeah."

"...well, see you at dance practice!"

* * *

The interview stage was, well, definitely kind of biased. The panel was made up of three women all from the Founder's Council, the one leading it being Mrs Lockwood. Something tells me that, no matter what I say during this interview, I'm still going to get marked well.

And so I decide to use this time to talk a little bit about myself, but also hype up my good friend Caroline Forbes.

Of course I couldn't talk about her throughout the entire interview, that would be suspicious, but making sure that my last point, the one that would leave the biggest impact, was the fact that I worked on the LGBTQ+ charity fundraisers with Caroline, not solo as many would believe.

"She's modest," I joke when Mrs Lockwood brings up that she hadn't mentioned it in her interview. "Plus, with everything she already does for this community, she may have just forgotten some extra details."

Mrs Lockwood finishes writing down her notes and gives me a kind smile, "Thank you, Skye. I'll see you later in the week for the dance lessons."

"Can't wait," I say, hoping that it didn't come out as sarcastic.

I let out a sigh of relief as I closed the door behind me. It's a bit stressful in that kind of boardroom interview setting, even if I don't want the job. Glad that it's over, I happily move on with my life until the next part of the preparation comes around...

I'm walking home when my phone rings and I check the caller ID, _Problem Child_. Hm, wonder what this is about. Maybe something with the tomb vampires will prevent this event from going forward! A girl can dream.

_"I'm feeling a little left out,"_ is the first thing I hear after accepting the call.

Not even a hello, wonder what this is about. "What's up Damon?"

_"It feels like I've been left out of the wedding, you know? I wasn't expecting to be best man or anything, but well..."_

"What are you on about? Is someone getting married? That damn cradle snatcher, Elena is far too young!"

I hear him laugh on the other end of the call. _"Not quite, Elena asked Stefan to be her partner for the Miss Mystic Falls dance, you know, since he learned it all those years ago. And I was wondering, considering I also learned it back in the day, whether you had a question for me?"_

Oh god, he can't be serious, right?

"Afraid not," I say, trying to sound as genuine as possible. "I've partnered up already."

_"What? I thought you got to choose. And you didn't pick me? I'm hurt."_

"Well, most people probably do, but Tyler and I are a special case," I explain.

_"See, now that's a shame...I'm a fantastic dancer, probably better than that jock, is all I'm saying."_

I try to stop from grinning as I keep walking down the street. "If it makes you feel better, you just missed the mark. I'm sure you'll get a laugh out of this whole thing when I inevitably fall on my face."

_"Hm, well, save me a dance at least?"_

"Of course," I say, "I've gotta go, talk to you later?"

_"Sure, bye-bye now."_

I shut the call off, but don't put my phone away. I open up contacts and click _Care Bear**.**_

_"What's up, Skye?"_

"Girl talk, ASAP!"

_"What?! Who, what happened?"_

"I dunno, I just got off the phone with Damon, he mentioned a wedding and - "

_"He what?! In fact, my mom's at work right now so come over, let's chat. I need help sorting through my clothes anyway."_

Oh boy.

Thankfully I'd been heading in the general direction of Caroline's house, meaning the walk there filled with over-thinking is thankfully cut short, and Care gets to experience it live!

"He said what?!"

"I feel like I need a drink..."

"You're underage, and my mom is a cop, so no," Caroline says, taking a break from flinging her clothes across the room. "When you said 'wedding' I thought he proposed or something, god, don't worry me like that, Skye!"

I fell to the floor since the bed was currently occupied. I stare up at Care, pouting, "Tell me what to do, please."

"Well," Caroline says, taking a seat beside me. "You know I'm not keen on him - "

"Care..." I whine because I unfortunately am.

" - but this isn't about me," she finishes, nodding her head. "I'll admit, you've been on some crumby dates lately, I can't believe Tyler was probably the best out of all of them..."

"Tell me about it..."

"But you know what? You obviously know Damon better than me at this point, and you two actually get along, plus I'm not going to put you off having a good time in the - "

"Care!"

"I'm just saying!" she says holding her hands up in defence. "Even if this is just a way for you to have a bit of fun, I'll be happy and support you!"

"I'm asking what I should do about this dance, not for your blessing!"

She sighs and gives me a look. "Well, there isn't exactly much you can do, just make sure to save him a dance...and make him fall madly in love, of course. Chill out and keep it casual."

I laughed, "If you're telling me to chill out then there must be something up."

"Exactly," she smiles, "And anyway, you and Tyler are like partners in crime at these events, you can't just let him off the hook." She makes a good point.

I nod my head in agreement. "You've got me there. Thanks for uh, calming my panic."

"You're welcome. You know, it's nice to see you a little flustered, spices things up."

"Gee, thanks."

"It's a good thing!"

"Mmhmm..."

"Come on, help me," Caroline says, getting to her feet and heading to her still somehow half-full wardrobe. Oh boy...long day ahead.

* * *

_The governor was throwing another extravagant party for his guests, he seemed to have acquired a liking towards the family as this was not long after the last. However, as much as I wish I didn't have to dress up and attend, not showing face is poor form, makes my father look bad, and oh we simply can't have that._

_It's busy, and I spot my parents mingling with others, expecting me to do the same now and find myself a possible suitor._

_I pull my collar on the dress higher so to cover the mark planted on my chest. Someday whoever I will be paired up with will see it, but until that day I'll happily hide it away._

_However, these guests that the governor has over are very handsome, very beautiful, and so captivating that I don't even think twice when one approaches me and suggest that we head upstairs, out of sight from the rest of party. I don't even blink twice when I see my mother giving me a warning look which would usually halt me in my travel with any gentleman that tried to get me alone._

_And it's upstairs, not even in one of the many bedrooms, that his lips are on mine, his arms wrapped around me, holding me against the wall. It's in this ecstasy that I forget any concerns about so-called purity, keeping the taint on my skin hidden, not giving myself up to sin._

_But ultimately the neckline falls and it's there, bold enough that it can't be excused or go unnoticed, but I don't seem to care. Not even when his lips trail from my own and head down my neck. Only when he pauses does it finally occur to me what's happened, shocking myself out of whatever just took place._

_"I-I'm sorry, sir," I stuttered, placing my hands on his chest in an attempt to move him back. "I don't know w-what overcame me, I- "_

_"Oh, love," the man said, a grin breaking across his face. "There's no need to apologise, let me introduce myself..."_

_"I really ought to be getting back - "_

_"Oh, but I insist," he says, a hand coming up to hold my chin in place, forcing me to look up into his eyes. "Stay for a while."_

* * *

"You two, behave!" Mrs Lockwood scolded, slapping Tyler's arm as she passed us.

We exchanged a surprised look before bursting into a fit of giggles once more, unable to contain ourselves.

This dance we had to learn? It was ridiculous.

The way Mrs Lockwood explained it made it seem like it was going to be this super romantic, magical dance that would ignite two lovers, but really? It felt like they had to dance like this because there was some plague going on, I swear.

Tyler and I had started this by actually going through the motions, but then one of us - I can't remember who anymore - joked that this was the old-timey version of the macarena and it all spiralled out of control from there.

"Alright, you two," Mrs Lockwood finally said, making a shooing motion at us. "I'll deal with you both later, but for now you're being a disturbance so I need you to leave."

"But Mom, we're having such fun," Tyler said, making my smack his arm to try and stop myself from bursting into another fit of laughter.

Mrs Lockwood was not happy with that. "Tyler."

"We're sorry," I apologise, quickly sobering up. "We'll behave."

She looks between us, definitely not believing a word I said. "One last chance."

As she turns around to face the others, Tyler and I grin at each other, trying our best to hold in the still contagious laughter. Thankfully, we manage to pull ourselves together before she can turn around to catch us.

We actually go through the dance properly the next time she puts on the music, not wanting to annoy her anymore and face her wrath.

Thankfully, it isn't us that causes the next disturbance, it's Stefan and Elena who end up doing a fancy twirl and dip, very cute and romantic of them I must say.

"Wow, you wanna try that?" I ask Tyler as his mom gives the couple into trouble.

"Only if I can be the one that gets dipped."

"Deal."

Safe to say, our dance practice didn't last much longer. Carol Lockwood accepted her defeat with our group, just as the next group was walking in. Hopefully, they'll be better behaved than we were.

Well, with Caroline in this group, and her being the perfect perfectionist that she is, something tells me things will stay under control.

"Hey, Care," I greet, rushing up to hug her.

"Ew, you're all sweaty," she laughs, "The dance doesn't require that much effort, what happened?"

"Tyler weighs a ton."

"Why were you...? Nevermind," Caroline shakes her head.

I look behind her, expecting to see Matt. "Where's your partner?"

She rolled her eyes, "Matt couldn't get off work so I brought Bonnie along."

I perked up at that, wondering if this will be a good chance to speak with her.

Speaking of, Bonnie walks around the corner and freezes as she spots me standing with Caroline.

"Hey," I say, walking up to her quickly, preventing her from doing that dodging thing she's been successfully doing for the past few days. "Can we talk?"

Bonnie reluctantly nods her head and drops her bag on the table, walking towards the hallway. I follow. Once we're there, she crosses her arms across her chest and faces me but doesn't actually look at me. "What's up?"

I shuffle from foot to foot, nervously. "I feel like you've been avoiding me...and Elena too actually but, I dunno, I wanna make sure we're okay because you're my friend, and you're grieving, and I want to be there for you because I love you but I also want you to be comfortable and...can you please tell me what you need?"

"Skye," Bonnie sighs, looking as if she was back to her old self before somehow shutting herself down again. "Look, Grams died opening the tomb that Damon wanted to get into, taking down the seal to free him and Stefan when they were trapped. Now...she's dead, the tomb vampires have been wreaking havoc, and it's all because of them."

"W-what?"

"Look, I know you like Damon," she whispers, "The first thing you did after you all got out was comfort him."

"Yeah, because - "

"I'm not going to make you choose, Skye," Bonnie says, shaking her head. "Elena has fallen for Stefan, he's he really pulled her back from the edge, and I'm not going to make her choose either. And you're...you."

I flinch from that comment, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's not a bad thing just, you always manage to see the best in people, even if they maybe don't deserve it," she shrugs. "I better get in there, don't wanna keep Care waiting..."

"Wait," I say, grabbing her arm as she tried to walk by me, "So...we're not friends anymore? Like, at all?"

Bonnie hesitates, and it gives me hope before she pushes my hand off her arm. "It'll be for the best, at least for now."

I watch her leave back into the makeshift dance hall in shock, my heart dropping into my stomach.

How...

I want to cry, is the easiest way to put it. I can feel my throat tightening and making it harder to hold back tears.

Our group starts leaving and I turn my back to them, not wanting anyone to wonder why I'm crying, doing my best to control my breathing.

"Skye," I hear Tyler call, "You left you back in there, did...are you okay?"

Looking up at him, I shake my head and find myself crying into his chest, unable to hold it back.

There's just something about those three words, are you okay, that just makes it so much harder not to cry.

* * *

After another week or so of non-stop preparations, even some extra out of school dance lessons arranged by the parents to I assume punish Tyler and me, it was finally the morning of the dreaded event.

At the crack of dawn, my mom comes into my room, sits on the side of my bed and wakes me up to begin the day. Way too early.

Thankfully I didn't sleep long enough to get into any dreams or past visions that would be terrifying to wake up to, but god I wish I could have slept a little longer...

I wash, shower, get half a breakfast and then allow my mom to start doing my hair and makeup.

"Don't rub your eyes."

"Sorry," I say, removing my hand from my face, "Still got sleep in my eye..."

"I'm almost done with your hair," she says, removing the clip from the top of my head and brushing out the tugs before picking up the curling iron. "I know you aren't one to get done up like this but...I hope you enjoy the day."

I smiled at her through the mirror. "I'll try."

Another hour later and the rest of my family were up and about. Kieron came in at one point, his bedhead still in place, trying on the pairs of heels that I had begrudgingly chosen and promptly decking it, causing me to burst out laughing and accidentally smudging my makeup as my mom was applying it, causing her to panic and worry that the whole day had suddenly been ruined.

Once my mom was happy with how I looked, I was happy because it meant that I could finally get off this chair and go downstairs to snag a stack of pancakes that my dad had made me for the big day.

My mom and I left first to drop off the dress at the venue and to offer our help to Carol Lockwood. Well, I was dragged along and plan to find Tyler as soon as possible. We still had a couple of hours left until we have to try and not laugh throughout that ridiculous dance.

And for them next couple of hours, Tyler and I proceeded to evade our mothers who were desperately wanting to get some pre-dance photos. We snuck around the place, tried out the food as it was brought in by the caterers, but eventually had to split up as the guests were arriving. Seen together, with a bunch of witnesses? Not a good idea.

I'm sneaking through one of the doorways, looking for two power women in heels, that I don't notice that I've walked right into some suit's chest. Suit? Wait, people wear suits, traditionally men. Oh god, have I just got make-up on this dude's suit? My mom might actually kill me.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to - oh, thank god it's just you, Damon." I breathed a sigh of relief when I realised it was just him and not some important, angry stranger ready to rat me out to the Founder's ladies.

"Do I know you?" Damon asked with a smirk on his face, a glass of champagne in hand.

I give him a look before glancing behind me to check I wasn't being spotted. "Haha, very funny Can I have a sip? I'm thirsty after having run from my mom all afternoon."

"Sure, but first," he says, stepping somehow even closer than before, tilting his head slightly, "May I be the first to tell you that you look beautiful."

Technically, the first person who told me I was beautiful today was my mom, then Kieron, then my dad, then Mrs Lockwood, not Tyler though, all I got out of him was a 'not bad' which I guess is all I want out of him.

But Damon...well, I'm gonna take the compliment.

I bite my lip to hold back my grin, "Thank you, you don't clean up so bad yourself. Now c'mon, gimme."

"Ah, ah!" he says, holding the glass just out of reach. He holds up a finger in between us, doing that eyebrow thing he does. "One more thing."

"What is it?" I sighed.

Staring down at me, I feel my heart rate begin to increase as I'm unable to decipher that look in his eyes, unable to tell what he's thinking or about to do. He smiles then, as if he knows that my mind is racing right now. "Save me a dance?"

I smile because "of course, I said I would, and I can't wait."

"Oh, and by the way..." Damon says, leaning in and whispering in my ear.

My heart beats uncontrollably, and I'm sure a normal human could hear it this close. "What?"

"Your mom is coming this way."

"What?!"

"Skye!"

God, I'm so dead.

Damon does that annoying little wave as I'm dragged towards the staircase, still holding onto that glass of champagne I never got the chance to drink. Now that's the biggest loss of the night so far.

Thankfully Mom doesn't give me too much grief, just touches up my make-up for me, gives me a hug and wishes me luck before leaving. I know, I'm as shocked as anyone else here. I guess she really wants this day to go well.

I pass by Amber as she's leaving, looking a little on the nervous side. "Hey, is Amber okay?" I ask Elena as I walk into the changing room us girls have been given for the day, only to find her and Damon, alone."Uh, what's going on?"

Damon grimaces, "Just letting Elena know about Stefan's little problem."

I freeze, "Is this about the blood problem?"

Elena turns to face me, looking betrayed, "Did you know Stefan was still drinking human blood?"

"What?" I say, eyes widening, "He's still on it? I thought he was getting back on his regime."

"Nope," Damon said, "and with the council back on alert, this is the worst time for him to not be in control of his hunger."

"You can't exactly argue there's a good time for Stefan to not be in control of his hunger," I scoffed, crossing my arms around my middle.

"What are you talking about, Skye?" Elena asks, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

I bite my lip nervously, shaking my head, not wanting to be the one tell her.

"Skye, unfortunately, knows what Stefan can be like when he's on the human stuff," Damon solemnly explains for me.

Elena looks between us in confusion, and I nod my head in confirmation, not sure what else to say, not really wanting to say much else.

That dream...I still haven't spoken to Stefan about it, I've been waiting for the right time where I'm sure he's stable again and that I know he can be trusted. Plus, with everything going on with the Founder's Court, it hasn't exactly been a nice quiet time for a discussion as heavy as this.

"Uh," Stefan says, announcing his arrival into the room and making me jump. "What's going on?" God, he's probably heard us talking about him, this is the worst.

"Just filling Elena in on your extracurricular activities," Damon says plainly.

For a moment, Stefan's face is completely blank, and I can't really tell whether he's going to be angry, shocked, or feeling anything at all. And then he smiles.

"What are you talking about?" he asks, playing dumb so well that if I didn't know any better, I would believe him.

"I'm um, gonna be downstairs, drinking," Damon says, not even bothering to pretend to be subtle. "Coming Skye?"

"Yup," I agree, quickly following him out the door, closing it gently behind me. "That...is gonna be a conversation."

"It is indeed," he says, "And I need another drink."

"Speaking of which," I say, stepping in front of him as we reach the staircase, "You owe me."

He smirks, raising an eyebrow. "Owe you what?"

"Damon..."

"Skye." I jump, hearing Mrs Lockwood's voice behind me. "You're not even in your dress yet, we're about to start lining up." It's then she seems to notice who I'm with, giving him a glance over. "Oh, hello Damon, good to see you, we ought to be going so if you could please head downstairs."

"Of course," he says, putting on that fake helpful voice of his, "I'll see you down there, have fun."

And I'm left to the mercy of Mrs Lockwood, doing my best to try and stall her as we approach the changing room, not wanting her to walk in on a conversation about vampires and blood considering she kind of deals with the whole not wanting vampires living thing.

Thankfully it seems their conversation has come to an end, and at least she doesn't notice what it was they were talking about before she entered the room, promptly kicking Stefan out.

I manage to calm Elena down enough to convince her that we just have to get through the next hour and then we can right on to helping Stefan with his addiction. What could possibly go wrong in an hour?

Well, how little I knew.

* * *

Tyler's dad was doing the announcements, as mayor, I guess that's standard. Now that I think about it, did we ever hold an election for him? Another issue for another time, right now I just need to get through this

I take in a deep breath, looking myself in the mirror, trying to convince myself that everything will be fine. I will not fall over wearing these heels while walking down the stairs, I will not trip in these heels as I walk outside to dance with Tyler, and I will not break my ankles in these heels as I try to dance in them.

"Tina Fell, escorted by Bartholomew Whitmore."

The dress my mom and I picked out was elegant, long as requested and hugged my figure nicely, a little too nicely for my current confidence, but still nice. The deep red colour, the sweetheart neckline, the pinch at the waist...it was all beautiful, but definitely not something I'm used to wearing.

The curls my mom had done earlier still held somehow, a supernatural ability in itself, framing my face nicely.

"Caroline Forbes, escorted by Jeffery Lockwood Hamilton."

Damn, I can't believe the Grill couldn't let Matt have this day off at least.

I took one more deep breath and stepped out the changing room to join Elena, we're the final two left to be called.

"Elena Gilbert, escorted by Stefan Salvatore."

I give her a grin, wishing her a whispered good luck as she goes down the stairs.

"Skye Hampton, escorted by Tyler Lockwood."

Well, this is it.

One final deep breath and I begin my descent down the stairs, focusing all my energy into not falling until I spot Tyler, my partner, walking arm and arm with Elena outside, sending me the most panicked, apologetic look.

Oh god, Stefan didn't show. We're one down.

I can already feel my chest clamping up, wanting nothing more than to run back upstairs and hide away from the party when I spot him, Damon, standing there at the bottom of the stairs, extending his hand up for me to take.

And it's difficult to explain the relief I felt in that moment, as I gripped his hand once he was in reach, feeling his grip back and providing me with something solid to hold on to as we headed through the foyer and outside where everyone else was waiting.

"What happened?" I whispered as we passed by countless faces.

"Stefan's missing," Damon whispers back, letting my hand go as we line up.

My eyes widen as we bow in front of each other. "What?"

"Let's just get through this first, okay?"

We stand up straight, and I can suddenly feel how nervous I am about dancing in front fo all these people, already wondering how we're all going to be dancing in these shoes without falling over, and what will happen if someone does fall? Will we stop or will they continue to dance around as if nothing happened?

"Hey," Damon whispers, just as the music starts and snapping my attention back to him. "It's me and you, okay? Just us."

With my heart beating in my chest, I nod, staring up into Damon's eyes, focusing on being so close but not quite, when I'm suddenly starting to realise exactly what Carol was talking about...

This dance that had Tyler and I crippled in tears of laughter, this same dance is currently making me feel so...connected.

With palms almost touching, the two of us in complete sync, moving like a perfect mirror image, unable to hold on to each other, it's like I can feel the electricity between our fingertips. Even though we aren't even touching, we're connected.

I wonder if I look as starstruck as I feel right now.

It's like the whole world disappears around as we finally, finally, are able to hold each other. I feel like I could be flying, the only thing grounding me being the man in front of me.

That unreadable look in Damon's eyes returns and I think to be able to figure out what that look in his eyes means, I'm going to have to see it a bit more often. And that's a goal I don't mind making, because right now, with him looking at me like that, I feel so...warm.

The music comes to an end and I blink a couple of times as I hear the clapping, realising that we aren't actually on our own right now, but there are crowds of people currently watching us, there to witness this moment.

And I smile up at him, refusing to be the on to look away first.

Damon gives me a small smile, bowing his head as if to thank me for this dance when it should be me thanking him for saving me.

* * *

This event is dragging on a hell of a lot longer than I wanted it to, I swear it was getting dark outside and none of us knew where Stefan is or was, and I for one am starting to worry.

Thankfully though, with the results in, it was all almost over.

"It is my honour to announce our very own Miss Mystic Falls..." the mayor says, leaving a moment for pause, "Miss Caroline Forbes."

The room erupts into clapping and cheers, me along with it.

"Congratulations!" Elena grins.

"I actually won!" Caroline says, letting out a laugh of disbelief.

"Of course you did, you're Caroline Forbes!" I said, pulling her in for a hug right before she walked up to get crowned.

And thank god she did, because if she didn't, then this whole thing was not just rigged once but rigged twice.

Unfortunately, as we were allowed off the stage to go mingle with the others I'm unable to go look for Stefan as I'm swept into hugs and chatter and pictures with my family. Well, it isn't the worst thing that could happen, just puts a delay on things for me personally, it doesn't stop anyone else from going to look for him.

"I don't know what that mix-up was about," Mrs Lockwood said to my mother, shaking her head in disbelief, "Of course I'm glad no girl was left without a partner but I'm still disappointed that we couldn't get any pictures with Tyler and Skye..."

"I'm really sorry Skye," Tyler apologised, "Stefan wasn't there, and I thought about how the show must go on, and that surely _someone _would step in to dance with you and...well, I'm glad he did."

"It's fine, Ty, I wouldn't expect you to do anything different," I said, wrapping an arm around him. "Just...my god, I thought I was never going to be able to show my face again."

"Perhaps we can get the photographer to take an additional photo the now? Recreate the moment maybe?" My mom suggests, peeking my attention. There was a photographer?

"Photographer?" I ask.

Tyler grips my wrist, whispering in my ear. "Run."

"Ah ah ah!" Mrs Lockwood says, gripping his other arm and making him groan. "One photo, come on."

"But it's never just one photo..." he whines, which is true, it never is just one photo.

So we head to a booth where the photographer that this event apparently had hired was selling already printed photo cards of today's event, from the girls coming down the stairs, to the boys waiting in line, to all of us on stage, to the dance outside...

As our moms are trying to convince the photographer to come and take just a couple more photos, I sift through the different sample photos, trying to find one in particular...

And it's there, well, there's a few of them actually but...damn, I was right, I do look absolutely starstruck.

But so does Damon...

"Skye dear, coming?" Mom says, bringing me back to the present.

"Yup," I reply, dropping the sample book and following her out. I'll definitely be coming back for one of those...

Unfortunately, it seems missed everything as when I'm eventually free to go outside on my own, I spot Elena standing by herself. No Damon, no Bonnie and definitely no Stefan.

Damnit.

Elena fills me in on everything, about how Amber was attacked by Stefan, Bonnie stopped it, and how Bonnie said that she was removing herself from everything supernatural, which I guess included us...

"So, what's the plan?" I ask, determined not to let this be the end.

"Plan?" Elena asks.

I nod, "I'll phone Damon, see if we can get a plan in order."

* * *

**Wordcount: 7,582  
****Proofread?: I'll apologise in advance for some parts, but overall I had fun writing it and I hope you had fun reading it**

**I wasn't sure whether to keep it the same where Elena and Damon still dance together and there could maybe be the whole longing for different partners, truly embracing the whole near touch thing Carol Lockwood seemed to vibe so hard with. But then I was like Nah, Tyler wouldn't have left Elena hanging like that, and it's also my story so I can have fun with it as much as I want**

_**A LOT happened in this chapter so PLEASE leave a cheeky wee review letting me know what you liked or disliked or whatever**_

_Replying to cheeky wee reviews_

**AndTheSaintsAreAllMadeOfGold - First off, thank you so much for leaving a review! It motivated me to get this next chapter out LESS THAN A WEEK later! You're amazing! Second, I totally agree with you, and I never meant for Season 1 to drag on this long it just sort of happened. I'm really starting to get the story moving a lot more now, so I hope you'll stick with me to see what happens next**


	24. Chapter 24 - Isobel

_this is a mess bruh what the hell bro ahh_

* * *

_**Aight, so I tried to upload a new chapter last night and it didn't work so...let's try this again :D**_

* * *

**Now, don't get too used to these regular updates. Vampires Diaries has officially been removed from the UK Netflix meaning I no longer have access to it! Legally I mean, I used to watch it on couchtuner a few years ago but I feel like they shut that down rip...**

**Anyway! More drama! End of Season 1 fast approaching!**

**Let's do this**

* * *

Now, the plan we managed to come up with was a little darker than I was expecting but hey, who am I to stop a potential mass of 'animal attacks'? I still feel kinda bad though...

Surprise, surprise, after a couple of days Stefan escaped from the cellar we threw him in and ran off to, Elena assumed, off himself as he left his ring behind. She, of course, rushed off to go find him.

Damon, on the other hand, wasn't as worried, or at least he pretended he wasn't.

He opened up to me about the night he turned, jokingly asking why I hadn't dreamed about it yet, and as weird as it sounds it was nice to hear about someone's past rather than diving in and watching it. It feels more personal this way, I think it's because he's choosing to open up rather than I just gain access to that information one day.

We stayed on the sofa for half the night, and I pretended I didn't notice Damon looking anytime I texted Elena for updates. Once she messaged me letting me know that Stefan was found and safe, I felt like I could finally relax.

"I feel like a parent waiting for their kid to come in after curfew..."

"Unwind," Damon said, his fingers continuing to massage my head nicely. "I told you he'd be fine."

"You can't tell me you weren't worried at all," I said, sitting up from my slouched position.

"I can, and I will. Now, are you staying the night like Gilbert or do you want a lift home?" Damon said, turning to me to do that suggestive eye thing. "My bed is very comfortable."

I smiled, shaking my head, "I'll take that lift please, I don't want to worry my own parents that may be waiting up for me."

Damon groans before standing up, offering me a hand. "Alright then, boring choice but I guess with Stefan already back on the straight and narrow it's affecting everyone..."

I rolled my eyes, grabbing my phone and jacket. "Are we taking the car or wooshing?"

He shrugged, "Up to you."

"Let's woosh, we haven't wooshed in a while."

"Your wish is my command," he says, bowing before coming and lifting me up bridal style. "Ready?"

"Yup," I grin, holding on tight, loving the feeling of being weightless and being faster than the world around you, if only for a moment.

These are the times that I think about maybe saying something to him, confessing that despite every bad thing that has happened since his arrival I like him, more than a friend, and feel like I'm falling for him more just a little bit every day. Which is dangerous in this climate of supernatural uncertainty.

It's also just the normal worry of if the person you like will return your feelings, or if you're just going to make things awkward between you after saying something.

I don't ever want things to be awkward between Damon and me, it's strange how in such a small length of time he's become such a big part of my life.

And because of that, I once again end the night by giving him a hug before entering my house that he and Stefan still don't have access to, wanting to keep our precious friendship intact.

* * *

_I thought this day would be the happiest day of my life, joining hand in hand with the one who I had fallen for at such a young age, spent our childhood falling in love and growing up prepared for the day where we could finally start our lives together._

_And it was such a beautiful ceremony until they came..._

_They were new to this town, but something about them seemed familiar, and these events are open to the whole town, but I didn't expect them to arrive, nobody could have prepared for what they did_

_The bloodshed, the screams, my fiance staring up at me with lifeless eyes, leaving me here wondering what it was I had done._

_"My dear," a voice called, drawing me out from my thoughts. "We have to leave."_

_Stroking my love's hair from his face, I tried to ignore the man standing behind me, tried to ignore the stains of blood I can somehow see everywhere, tried to imagine that I was dead too so I wouldn't have to deal with this pain._

_"Come now, dear," he says again, something in his voice indicating impatience. A hand appears in my peripheral vision, but I refuse to take it. "I'll explain everything to you soon, just please, we must leave before others come searching."_

_"Let them come," I say, my voice void of emotion, "Maybe they'll deal with you..."_

_I hear him let out an angry breath and the next thing I know I've been lifted into his arms bridal style, and no matter how much I struggled and screamed, wanting nothing more than to be with my lover, it's no match for his unnatural strength._

_"I'm saving you," he grunts out, at least showing that he had trouble keeping me under control._

_Sobbing, I shook my head furiously. "You're not! If this is saving me, let me die!"_

* * *

I wake up with a sigh, rubbing the sleep from my eyes, wondering what on earth that dream was about but not wanting to dwell on it either. I shuddered as I could still hear the screams of innocents, still see people suddenly collapsing as a blur past them, blood flying everywhere until eventually...they reached the altar.

Even though I didn't know the name of the man I was supposed to marry, I still felt like mourning his death, despite that fact it definitely happened centuries ago.

I wonder how far back in time I'll end up dreaming, I wonder what the earliest memory I ever had was...

I took my time getting ready, not caring that I'll probably end up being late. There'll be loads of us helping out today, Care surely won't notice me missing.

By the time I arrived, feeling more like myself than when I first woke up, it was in full swing. I was on my way indoors to join up with Tyler's group float but Alaric and Elena bumped into me in the hallway, dragging me away from the chaos to an empty classroom.

"What's this about?" Elena asked once we were on our own.

Alaric looked down. "I met Isobel last night, she wants to meet you, Elena."

My jaw dropped as I looked towards Elena who stands, blinking, staring at nothing. Now that I think about it, Alaric looks rough, as if he hadn't slept well. And now Elena, well. This isn't going to be easy.

I sat Elena down at one of the desks, telling her I would message Stefan and Damon, telling the pair of them to get their asses over here stat.

That's one of the perks of super speed I guess, you can arrive anywhere in no time at all, making these emergency meetings a lot easier to arrange. As Stefan was on campus already, he arrived first.

While we were waiting for Damon to arrive, I received a couple of panicked texts from Tyler about how Matt still definitely hates him and asking me what to do or, better yet, hurry up so the awkward silences between them can end.

I felt bad for Tyler but god...Matt's mom, really?

It was going to take more than an 'I'm sorry' to fix this, and I think Tyler was finally starting to realise that.

Eventually, the door to the classroom opens and Damon saunters through, confidently giving us a smirk as he turns to Alaric. "Sorry I'm late, my dog ate my, uh..." he looks over at me as I snigger, smirking, "Never mind." Looking around the room, he gathers that perhaps this isn't the best time to be joking. "What's with all the furrowed brows?"

"I saw Isobel last night," said Alaric.

"Isobel's here? In town?" Alaric nods his head. At that revelation, Damon turns to look at Elena who continues to sit in shock, still processing what it is we're supposed to do to prevent an angry vampire lady for going on a rampage around town.

And then it was like a series of 20 questions, except Alaric didn't know any of the answers to Damon's questions...

"Did you ask? Are they working together?"

"No."

"No, they're not?"

"No, I didn't ask," Alaric sighed.

"What about the invention?" Damon continued.

"Didn't ask."

"Does she know about the tomb vampires?"

"I-I don't know," Alaric stuttered, crossing his arms over his chest, clearly feeling uncomfortable with the interrogation.

"Did words completely escape you?" Damon snapped.

"Damon..." I scolded quietly, not wanting a fight to break out amongst us.

Alaric seemed to be able to handle the situation well though, articulating exactly why Damon should maybe be a little more understanding. "I'm sorry, I was a little distracted by my dead vampire wife to ask any questions!"

"What does she want?" Damon asks, finally backing off from Alaric.

"She wants to see me, Damon," Elena says, piping up for the first time since he got here.

"Alaric is supposed to arrange a meeting," Stefan explains, "We don't know why or what she wants."

"You don't have to see her if you don't want to."

I'm not sure what it was about that comment, but Stefan and I at that moment made eye contact and shared the same expression of momentary shock. I mean, they had gotten closer during Stefan's incarceration, spending more time together at the boarding house and all, but I guess I forgot that the aftermath would mean Damon being nice, to someone other than me I mean.

It's not a bad thing, the complete opposite actually.

Elena shrugs, looking defeated already, "I don't really have a choice."

"She's threatened to go on a killing spree," Alaric explains.

Damon raises an eyebrow, making me shake my head. "No," I say before he can even speak, "We are not okay with that."

He rolls his eyes, "Fine, when are we doing this?"

* * *

The meeting was arranged for an hour later, at the Grill. Hopefully having a public venue will avoid any injuries or casualties. Damon and Alaric were stationed outside the Grill, in case anything serious happened, while Stefan and I hung out near the pool table, a safe distance away but still able to keep an eye on Elena and be there for moral support.

And they're relationship was just so sweet to watch, painstakingly so.

"God, you guys are so adorable," I say, interrupting their little conversation. "Where can I find me some of that?"

Elena raises an eyebrow, clearly unable to hear what I said, but Stefan shook his head in amusement. That smile promptly leaves his face though as a woman stands before Elena's table, taking her jacket off and placing it behind her chair. She flicks her hair so it sits properly and takes a seat across from Elena.

That beautiful woman must be Isobel.

I kept an eye on the conversation, not bothering Stefan to fill me in as doing so would raise her suspicions of us.

Doesn't seem like it would matter too much though, as they both turn to look at us anyway.

The glare she sends our way makes me flinch, kind of wishing I had stayed outside with Alaric and Damon, and as far away from her as possible.

A few minutes later, she gets up from her seat, gathers her belongings and leaves without so much as a glance our way.

Stefan and I wait a moment, watching to make sure she leaves through the door before turning to Elena and seeing that she's about to burst into tears. The two of us head down as she gets to her feet, moving in between people and tables only to see her facing Bonnie.

Bonnie looks towards us as we approach and immediately turns, walking away.

And when Elena turns around, proceeding to cry into Stefan's chest, something within me snaps, and I follow Bonnie Bennet outside, having had enough of this.

"Hey!" I call as soon as I've left the Grill, trying to catch up with her. "Hey!" She only stops once I've grabbed a hold of her arm. "What the hell is wrong with you? I know we're all going through a rough patch right now, but you and Elena have been stuck at the hip since preschool, what the hell kind of friend are you just leaving her in there crying?"

For a moment, she almost looks guilty, before shaking her head and snatching her arm back. "She's got Stefan there to comfort her, she doesn't need me."

I scoff, "That's bullshit and you know it. Whatever, Bonnie. I knew you said you didn't want to spend time around anything supernatural, but I didn't think you'd leave your friend in a time of need..."

Not wanting to get into a physical fight with her, a witch in training to be more exact, I head back into the Grill to check in on Stefan and Elena who were now huddled together at one of the corner booths.

I'm really glad she has him, I realise when I see her tears have already stopped.

And I don't mean to eavesdrop on their conversation, but when you hear your name being mentioned out of blue like that, your curiosity can sometimes get the better of you.

"She said Skye was dangerous..."

"I know...I heard."

"Does that mean she knows about her mark?"

"She must, how else can Skye be dangerous?"

Elena lets out a watery laugh, "You'd be surprised."

"So," I say, announcing my presence and letting them know I was back. The pair of the jump, blinking blankly up at me. "On a scale of 'it's probably fine' to 'get a plane out of the country' how badly am I fucked?"

* * *

_"You're insufferable! A pain in my ass!"_

_"You've got quite a foul mouth on you, my dear."_

_"Let - me - go!" the woman yells, finally able to yank her arm from the man who had been dragging her through the town square, attracting quite a few odd looks. "My word, you are persistent."_

_"You'd be surprised..." the man replies, eyes seeming to darken somehow now that his plans were put on hold._

_The woman fixes her sleeve, wiping off the dust that had gathered on her apron. "I told you, it was a generous offer, but I cannot just up and leave with a stranger, I have responsibilities."_

_The man steps forward, raising an eyebrow. "And what if I can relieve you of those responsibilities?"_

_"I'd still refuse," the woman said, matching his fierce gaze. "I don't wish to be indebted to anyone, especially a gentleman of you're standing. It's a trap, and I like to think myself smart enough to evade it."_

_The man smirks, nodding his head. "Very well. You are smart, yet you don't seem to grasp that I was only being polite with this request. You have the three days to have your affairs in order, and then we will come to collect you."_

_The woman glared before turning away, fury running through her veins._

_There was no way she was going to just sit down and take this, no way..._

* * *

We found out that Isobel wanted the device to track down vampires, remember that? Well, apparently it's also one of the pieces to a puzzle. What is this puzzle? We're not sure yet, but if this Isobel woman wants it then there's no way we're gonna give it to her.

Well, at least that's where I'm standing in this situation.

It was the next day, and I was doing my best to just work on this float, joke around with my friends, do normal things that normal high schoolers do. I don't want to think about why Isobel deems me a danger, about why she cares. She probably just wants to separate our group up to make it easier to get what she wants.

Yeah, that sounds about right.

I'm in the middle of listening to Tyler's very awkward, very clunky, very Tyler-like apology to Matt, trying not to cringe and instead be supportive of my friend, doing his best at an apology that he isn't used to making when Elena approaches me, asking me to come with her somewhere.

Thinking it's something supernatural to do, I reluctantly agree. I mean, at least it gets me away from this scene.

Little did I know I would be walking into another awkward apology...

We enter the science classroom, and I see Bonnie sitting at one of the desks with a grimoire.

I come to a sudden stop, not expecting to see her here. Two brooding vampires and a history teacher with questionable hobbies? That's who I was expecting.

Bonnie stands nervously, smiling, "Hey."

"Hey," I said stiffly, remembering our conversation from yesterday. I glanced at Elena who seemed to be okay with all this. I'm guessing they've made up...

"I'm sorry about how I've been acting," she says, coming over to me. "And you were right yesterday, I shouldn't have just walked away from a friend when they were upset. I still don't want to be apart of this supernatural business, but I do want my friends back...if you'll have me."

My lip twitches and I nod my head, pulling her in for a hug. Finally.

I hold onto her tightly, burying my head in her shoulder. "I missed you," I said, gently rocking us back and forth.

"Me too."

We pull away and I sniff, wiping my eyes to check I hadn't just cried. We all laugh, a sense of relief sweeping through us.

"So," I say, nodding towards the open grimoire. "What's happening?"

"I was doing a little research," Bonnie says, going back over the book and pointing to a specific part. "When I found this."

Immediately, we recognised it as the watch that is able to track vampires.

"Turns out Jonathon Gilbert never really invented anything," shrugs Bonnie, "Emily secretly spelt them all with magic. Compass, rings," she turned another page. "And the mystery device you told me about."

"Yeah, that's it," Elena says, looking at the old picture painted on the paper. "Well, a part of it, Damon only has the one piece."

"Emily pledged her loyalty to Katherine," Bonnie explained, "But she couldn't stand by and watch innocents get killed. This was the only way she could think of to help. To let Jonathon Gilbert actually believe he invented these devices."

"Smart woman," I commented, trying to figure out what the words on the paper said. Not in English, maybe Latin?

"Does it say what it does?" Elena asks.

Bonnie starts reading through a page or two, and I blink, quite shocked.

"Damn, you learnt a dead language while you were away?"

"Skye."

"What, Elena? I'm impressed, that's so cool."

Bonnie's eyebrows furrow as she continues to read, and I start wondering what exactly this device does. She sits up, looking more confused than before. "Are you sure this is what Isobel wants?"

"Yeah, I'm sure, why?" Elena asks.

"This is a weapon," Bonnie explains, making us stop. "A weapon against vampires."

We all exchange confused looks, wondering what a vampire would want with the device.

I was interrupted from my thoughts by a phone call from Tyler, asking - no, demanding that I get my ass back out here to help him because he was so done with trying to apologise to Matt.

"Look, he'll forgive you, just give him time," I said, stapling more party stuff to the side of this float.

"I have already apologised like a hundred times, though," Tyler complained, lifting a piece of equipment onto the float. "It was a mistake."

I sighed, patting his shoulder to try and calm him down. "I think you beating him up afterwards doesn't exactly help."

"Don't you think I get that?"

"Let his wounds heal, let him calm down, and I'm sure you'll be fine," I reassure him, hugging him around the middle, "You'll be alright, just keep being you're lovely polite self."

"It's getting hard pretending, Skye," he sighs, patting my back.

Suddenly, we hear a crash.

And then someone screaming.

We tear off to where the sound came from, to find Matt's arm getting crushed underneath one fo the floats.

Tyler rushes over trying to lift it off him, calling for more of the football guys to help. They're all struggling and I start looking around for any signs of my vampire friends when Stefan thankfully appears and the float is lifted up.

Matt lays on the ground cradling his arm.

"Oh, god, Matt!" Caroline cries, rushing over to him.

"Quick, Care, call an ambulance," Stefan says.

I kneel beside Matt, trying to see how bad the damage was. "Matt, Matt, can you sit up for me?"

Stefan and I manage to sit him up, and he winces as he moves his arm.

In the distance, I hear Elena calling for Jeremy. I have no idea what's going on between them, but right now Matt's my biggest priority.

Caroline comes rushing back, just off the phone. "Ambulance said they could be here in 20 minutes."

"If we're lucky," I complained, remembering the time I had to wait an hour for an ambulance to arrive, it would have been quicker if we'd just driven the person to the hospital ourselves.

"I've got my car, I'll drive," Tyler says.

"Thank god," I said, getting to my feet.

"No, no way," Matt says, shaking his head.

"Matt," I say in a warning tone.

"Caroline can drive me," he says.

Caroline though shook her head. "I didn't bring my car with me."

"Then we'll wait..."

"We will not!" I snap.

"Matt, get over this fight for one second!" Caroline yells, "You are going to the hospital and Tyler is driving, end of story!"

I go with Tyler to grab his car, hopping in and getting back to Matt as soon as. It's at this moment I'm almost thankful for how confident a driver Tyler is, even if he does break the occasional speed limit...

The drive isn't as awkward as you'd expect it would be, all of us focusing on just getting Matt to the hospital as quickly and safely as possible.

We drive up to the emergency drop-off, letting Caroline take Matt in while I stay with Tyler as he finds a parking spot. We meet up in the waiting room with Caroline who was now on her own, biting her nails, a horrible habit that only comes out in dire situations.

The three of us sat in the waiting room, each taking turns to be the one to get snacks and drinks from the vending machine as we waited for news on Matt.

I get a phone call an hour or so later from Elena, with a strange request...

"You want me to convince Damon to do what now?"

_"We need the device, or she's going to kill Jeremy."_

"Why do _I_ need to ask him though?" I say, peeking around the corner to see if a doctor was talking to Care and Tyler yet.

I hear her sigh on the phone. _"Because he'll listen to you."_

I rolled my eyes, "Please if you guys can't convince him yourselves then how do you think I can change his mind?"

_"He trusts you, Skye. More than any of us. If he hears that you're on board with it then there's a better chance we can get the device from him."_

I didn't like how it seemed I was just being used as a means to an end, but remembering that her little brother's life was in danger, I guess I can understand. If Kieron's life was in danger, I'd do anything to make sure he was safe.

"I'm still at the hospital," I tell her, wrapping an arm around my middle. "As soon as I hear Matt's okay, I'll let you know."

_"Oh god, Matt..."_

"Listen, it's fine, just...I'll need a lift."

_"Of course, just say when."_

"In the meantime, try and talk to Damon, he might surprise you," I say, ending the call with a sigh, heading back to join Caroline and Tyler.

"Who was it?" Caroline asks.

"Elena," I replied, "Just wanting to check how Matt was doing. Did I miss anything?"

Tyler shakes his head in frustration, "Not yet. What's taking them so damn long?"

My phone buzzes a couple of minutes later, _Problem Child_. Complaints about how Elena, Stefan and Bonnie were trying to get the device off him and if I knew anything about it.

"They were going to recruit me to help convince you but I'm still at the hospital waiting to see how Matt's doing."

_"Jock 1 or 2?"_

"2."

_"Ah, blonde. Does he need a blood donation?"_

"Best not to, there was a lot of people who seen him get injured, thanks though."

_"Anytime, now, don't try and convince me to give them the device."_

I laughed, "I can't make you do anything you don't wanna do. But if Bonnie can make the device useless then I personally don't see the harm in handing it over."

I hear him groan. _"I thought I told you not to try and convince me."_

"I'm sorry! I'm just giving you my opinion, isn't that thing like a ticking timebomb? If Bonnie deactivates it then boom, no more bomb!"

"Bomb?" Tyler says suddenly, appearing around the corner.

I shake my head, pointing at the phone.

_"Is that jock number one?"_

"Yes," I said, trying not to smile. "Look, do what you want, but think about this long-term."

There's a pause, and I wonder if he's already hung up when I hear him say, _"Fine." _and then the click.

After that phone call with Damon, we thankfully don't have to wait much longer, the doctor coming out to tell us everything went fine and Matt was now resting and that we could go see him soon. I messaged Elena then to let her know that Matt was okay, asking if she still needed me to help convince Damon to get the device.

She didn't, which was great!

The spell on the device was deactivated and she was meeting up Isobel later tonight to do the exchange. I asked if I could get a lift on the way there, not wanting to miss out on anything else, and curious about Isobel, about why she thought I may be a danger.

Sure, we had gone over this with Bonnie's Grams when I had been taken by Lana and her family of witches, but I was still afraid of what she thought, wondering if perhaps Sheila Bennet was wrong, that this mark was, in fact, a bad omen.

Damon didn't bother bringing the car, instead, we wooshed to the town square. Well, not directly. He, Stefan and I all hid around a corner nearby while Elena walked out into the open.

One second she was standing there alone, and the next that Isobel woman was standing behind her.

Vampire super-speed sure is something...

"Well, I'm not alone either."

And I guess that was our signal to show ourselves.

I stood in between Damon and Stefan, standing behind them slightly for cover. I may be here for the drama, but I'm not gonna die for it.

Isobel glared at us before turning back to face Elena.

"For god sake, call home," Isobel said, I could practically hear her rolling her eyes.

Elena takes out her phone, dialling I assume home where, with a look of relief, seems to discover that Jeremy is now safe.

"You were never gonna hurt him," Elena said after ending the call.

"No," Isobel said mockingly, "I was gonna kill him."

I gulped hearing that. Jeremy was a kid, and she had no issue with killing him? Her daughter's brother? I'm starting to wonder if it was a good idea that I opted to come here.

"Don't look for any redeeming qualities in me, Elena," Isobel continued, "You won't find any."

"You took a risk with Damon," Elena said, "How did you know he would give me the device?"

"Well," she turned to look back at us, and I hated how...empty her eyes were. It reminded me of when I first met Damon, how little he seemed to care, but even this...she's much worse. "I had a feeling you'd find a way." Isobel turned back to face Elena, extending her hand expectantly.

Elena huffs, walking up and reluctantly handing her the device. "Thank you."

"For what?" Isobel asks.

"For being a monumental disappointment," Elena says harshly, "It keeps the memory of my real mother perfectly intact."

I can't help smirking at her confidence. She was right, this woman standing in front of us was no Miranda Gilbert.

"A word of motherly advice," Isobel says, walking to Elena's side to face us, pointing a finger over at us, directly at me. "That girl you call your friend...she'll be the one to get you killed."

My heart drops into my gut hearing this.

"Is this because of her mark? Because it's just a myth, it isn't a bad omen."

This is exactly what I came here to know, need to hear. So why does it hurt hearing it?

"I'm not talking about that," Isobel scoffs, "I'm talking about the types of people who are out there, looking for her. They're dangerous, more so than having a Salvatore brother on each arm. And she's leading them straight to you."

Ah, I get it, because she doesn't have her humanity on, meaning everything she's saying is the cold, hard truth, nothing is sugarcoated. She had no reason to lie about this, at least none that was obvious.

"Good luck," she says, and I can't tell if it's toward me, Elena or us all.

As Isobel walks away, Stefan quickly moves over and pulls Elena into his arms.

I take this moment to start walking in the opposite direction Isobel went in, completely forgetting about Damon for the second that I wanted nothing more than to escape.

He gently grabs my wrist, catching up to me in seconds. "Hey, Skye, are you okay?" I try to pull away, making him yank me back in retaliation. "Hey!"

I shake my head, not bothering to hide the fact I'm about to start crying. "I'm...terrified, Damon," I whimper, my voice breaking.

"Don't be," he says gently, leaning down to wipe away the tears spilling from my eyes. "Isobel doesn't know what she's talking about. Grammy Bennet even said it was a myth gone wrong, remember?"

"I've been having these dreams recently," I whimpered, feeling tears running down my face again, "These people...they come, they take what they want, they kill the people I love and I just...I'm terrified that it's going to happen again..."

Damon pulls me into his arms, wrapping me up, allowing me to feel warm and safe at least at this moment. "I won't let that happen," he says, sounding so determined, so sure of himself.

"You can't know that for sure, though," I said sadly, keeping my arms wrapped tightly around his middle, resting my head on his chest. "My mom, dad, Kieron...my friends...and you. You've become so important to me, Damon...I don't know what I'd do if I lost you all too..."

I feel his fingers brush through my hair, making me lift my head to look at him. He keeps one hand on the side of my head, the other wrapped around my middle, keeping me close.

The look in his eyes is similar to the look I remember seeing from our last dance, although a little sadder.

"I'll protect you," he says, gently massaging his fingers through my hair. "You'll have nothing to worry about."

I sniff, looking away from him as I admit, "I'll have you to worry about..."

A glimpse of a smile appears on his face before he turns around suddenly, glaring towards where Elena and Stefan were standing, looking over at us.

"Don't like it when it happens to you, huh?" Stefan calls cheekily.

"Shut it, brother," Damon mumbles, making me laugh.

I lean my head forward, burying myself in Damon's chest again, happily letting myself feel intoxicated by him, enjoying how he holds me close.

I try to ignore my heart beating wildly in my chest, but there's no ignoring the skip when I feel Damon pull away slightly, pressing his lips gently to my forehead.

Closing my eyes, I relish in this feeling of bliss, feeling safe, secure, that nothing bad will ever happen, because something tells me that I'm not going to have many of these moments left in the future.

* * *

**Wordcount: 5,712  
****Proofread: yup, I'm getting better at that huh?**

**Thank you to everyone who left a cheeky wee review on the last chapter! You really motivated me to get this out on time! Unfortunately, now that I don't have ready access to all the episodes, and I'm also back at uni with A Lot of work to do, updates may not be as regular as they have recently been.**

**Either way, I don't plan on abandoning this story anytime soon, but to make sure I stay motivated why not leave a cheeky wee review? It's FREE!**

**ALSO, we reached 10,000 views! Another achievement unlocked! And ****in fear of sounding like a 12yo, we reached 69 reviews. Nice! 420 is gonna be hard, but with your help, I think we can do it!**

_Replying to FREE cheeky wee reviews_

**Guest (29th) - Thank you! At this point, same. The Originals are really going to kick things off. I never meant for S1 to drag on as long as it has, but I hope you've enjoyed it so far! I'm glad you think Skye and Damon's relationship seems to develop well! I find it difficult writing romance, and I didn't want their relationship to seem too OOC. Anyway, thanks again for reviewing!**

**Sciave - Congrats, you are reviewer 69 lmao It makes me so happy to know you binge-read my story, mine? What an honour! I personally love reading OC stories where it sticks to the OG plot but I also hate just...reading the script for the show? It's something I'm trying to balance, and it's nice to hear that I seem to be doing an okay job of it :D I promise, the Originals are on their way, and I've been planning things since the beginning... Thank you so much for leaving such an awesome review!**

**AndTheSaintsAreAllMadeOfGold - I tried to and idk what happened lmao pls send help if this doesn't wor**

**Guest (1st) - Skye and Tyler's friendship always makes me happy. I'm still trying to work around how to handle the whole werewolf Mason business, but I'll try my best to make it good ^.^ Thank you for leaving such a nice cheeky review!**


	25. Chapter 25 - Founder's Day

**I don't know what happened with trying to upload the previous chapter, but it seems like it's finally able to be viewed! Thank you so much for all the support recently, I'll hopefully make this story worth it.**

* * *

I stand beside Bonnie, grinning as Caroline and Matt get cute photos taken together, Care concerned about the cast not being historically accurate making me laugh. We all take turns jumping in for photos, and I wave Tyler over once I see him to get in for one.

"Careful, Skye, don't end up like your mom," he joked as I started dragging him over.

"Hey," I pout, "The one good thing about her always insisting on photos is that we have memories for later."

"Yeah," he said, a little less enthusiastic, "Can't wait to look back on when I'm dressed like this." He indicated to the old suit that did actually look quite itchy.

I shrugged, "Well, at least you're not wearing a corset."

"That's what you think, check this out," Tyler jokes, beginning to lift his shirt and making me laugh.

Unfortunately, the rest of the gang seems to have disappeared during our shenanigans so we just shrug and decide to head to our post, not wanting to anger one Carol Lockwood anymore than we may have already, accidentally of course.

The floats turned out really well, all things considered. Plus, it was nice that Matt was able to get the time off work for this event at least. You know, now that I think about it, maybe he planned this...no dance practice, no actual dance? Just show up and stand on the float?

My god, Matt is a secret genius...

Now _that_ is a terrifying thought.

Tyler hopped onto the float first, giving me a hand up in this dress. It was a beautiful dress, don't get me wrong, makes me wish I went for a gold dress for the dance instead but this corset was making even the most simple of tasks a challenge. It wasn't even done up properly, and it still hurt, how did women go about wearing these before?

"Don't pull an Elizabeth Swan on me now," Tyler joked as we find our spot on.

"I don't look _that_ good," I said in return, fixing how my dress sat and turned to Tyler, seriously. "If this float stalls at any point, you will not let me fall and break my neck, yes?"

"Aww," he said, pouting as if it did him any favours, "But it would be so funny."

"So would telling your mom about your little milf problem."

And with perhaps both the best and worst timing known to mankind, Carol Lockwood suddenly appears below us, standing beside the float, and asking the dreaded question, "What's a milf?"

Tyler's jaw drops as he tries to come up with an excuse.

And oh god, if the situation wasn't so dire I think I would start laughing and then never stop, but first, I have to save Tyler.

"Milk," I said, interrupting Tyler's blubbering. "Tyler's been drinking milk straight out the carton again, I told him it's gross."

"Tyler," Carol says, giving him the disappointed mother look, "We've talked about this, just get a glass, for goodness sake."

Once she's a safe distance away I keel over laughing, unable to hold back anymore, hitting Tyler's arm who stands there looking like he just dodged a bullet.

I try to stop laughing, this dress not exactly making it easy to breathe.

Eventually, after I managed to calm down, getting odd looks from those getting ready to watch the parade, we're almost ready to set off, just waiting for the others to join and get set up.

Elena and Stefan, Caroline and Matt all appear, all looking gorgeous, and if it weren't for the fact Matt and Tyler were fighting I may have tried to get a big group photo of us all. Oh well, maybe later. Or maybe my mom will be able to get one from the crowd...hmm, here's hoping!

Once we're all in position, the float finally starts moving, making me grab a hold of Tyler, definitely glad I had a partner to keep me standing in this get-up.

We follow the rest of the parade, waving to the crowd that gathered. I spot Kieron immediately, sitting on my dad's shoulders, meaning my mom - ah, there she is with the camera!

"Smile and wave, boys," I say quietly, Tyler and I both wave at Kieron, definitely being a little biased on where we divided our attention before we start moving again.

A few minutes later, I spot Bonnie, grinning and waving at her too. I feel bad that she isn't up here with us, but she doesn't look too bothered. Well, until her view gets blocked by Damon.

He stood out, wearing all black on a day of supposed celebration. But I can't deny he looked good.

Damon lifts a hand, sending me a cheeky wave. I wave back, trying to keep a normal smile on my face and not the stupid grin I know I'll end up doing.

"Aw, look at that, it's your boyfriend," Tyler teased, making me gently elbow him in the side as I turned to wave at others in the crowd.

"Shut up..." I whispered, hoping the noise of the crowd will cover up what he said.

I chance a glance to look back at Damon, and I lose all hope in that when I catch him doing that flirty eyebrow thing. Yup, he definitely heard that...

"What?" Tyler said, not even bothering to hide his grin, definitely enjoying his payback from earlier. "It's not like he can hear us from up here."

"He can lip read," I say without reading.

Tyler gives me a deadpan look, raising one eyebrow, "Oh really?"

"Really."

"That sounds fake."

"Are you calling me a liar?"

"Fine, I'll take your word for it."

The parade travels through town, and by the time we're allowed off the floats, I'm exhausted and just thankful to be able to get dressed in more this time-appropriate clothes. Jeans and a baggy t-shirt, I never thought I'd miss you this much.

I make plans to meet up with Caroline at the fair later, telling me to bring Tyler. I have a feeling that she might have a plan to try and reignite the bromance...

It's still early when I meet up with the family, my mom hugging me and saying how proud she is, my dad thankfully taking my bag from me, and Kieron practically demanding he joins me and Tyler on our fairground adventures.

Not seeing a problem with this, our parents agree to leave Kieron in my care, and the adventure begins.

"So, where are we going first?" I ask, keeping a hand on his shoulder as we travel through the crowd towards where all the stalls and rides were.

"Hm..." he thinks for a moment looking around as best as a kid his size could. Finally, he points towards a stall. "That one!"

I look over and snort, "That's just cotton candy, don't you wanna actually do something? Like a game or a ride?"

"I wanna eat cotton candy."

"Fine!"

So we went to get a bag of cotton candy.

We find a free bench and quickly grab it before anyone else can, happily eating the fluffy sugar.

"When's Tyler gonna be here?" Kieron asks me in between mouthfuls of cotton candy.

I rolled my eyes, "What am I not good enough?"

"Well..."

I shouldn't have asked.

"...you're good, but I miss Tyler. It's been ages since we hung out," he pouts, looking adorably sad about the situation. "You're always hanging around that Damon guy now..."

Now hold up.

"I'm what?" I ask, hoping to get to the bottom of this, whatever this is.

Kieron shrugs, "He's always dropping you off late, and you keep hanging out at the Grill with him when it used to be Tyler...did Tyler do something wrong?"

"Of course not, Tyler's just...been busy. Plus, I'm allowed to hang out with my _best friend_ right?"

"You make a good point," he says, nodding his head. He might have actually pulled off looking serious if he didn't have cotton candy hanging out the side of his mouth. "Damon's pretty cool too, I guess."

"Hey," I joke, gently nudging him, "Don't go trying to steal _another_ best friend of mine."

"I can't help being the favourite."

"Alright, let's go find Tyler."

"Yay!"

I give Tyler a call, telling him to meet us at the shooting stalls, one of the more noticeable ones with some of the better prizes.

There is a giant teddy that I've got my eye on. It's bigger than Kieron, it would be hilarious if we won it.

I hear Kieron screech, from behind me and then start laughing as Tyler lifts him upside down, swaying him back and forth.

"Ty!"

"Hey, buddy," Tyler grins, throwing him up and catching him before putting him back on his feet. "How's my bestie doing?"

"Great!" Kieron replies, practically bouncing now that Tyler's finally arrived. Well, maybe the sugar high has something to do with it too. "Can you win us the teddy? Skye sucks at this game."

"Hey!" I say, turning to glare down at him. "At least I'm old enough to play it."

"Alright," Tyler says, stepping up to the mark and taking the gun off me. "Let me have a shot."

Lo and behold, after another couple of tries, the three of us give up, sending angry glances back to the stall.

"It was so f-"

"Ty!"

"-freaking rigged."

"Yeah," Kieron pouts, crossing his arms over his chest, "They suck. We should go back and steal one of the teddy bears, it's not like they'd miss just one."

Tyler and I exchange a couple of looks, a mix between 'we really shouldn't' changing to 'but we're really tempted to' which ended in us both shaking our heads.

"They're going to be here for a few more days," I say, "If by the last day we haven't won that bear, we'll steal it, deal?"

"Deal!" Kieron cheers happily.

Tyler gives me a deadpanned look, "You're a horrible role model."

"So, you aren't going to help with the heist?"

"Now I didn't say that..."

As it started getting darker, and we had gone through all the kiddie rides that Kieron had wanted to go on, I got a text from my mom saying to meet her at the Grill so she could take Kieron off my hands and stop me from loading Kieron up high on sugar any more than I already had. How she knew that, well, she's my mother I guess.

Coincidentally, I also received a message from Caroline, saying to bring Tyler to the Grill for food ASAP.

A plan had been made, but it may have been a little harder to execute.

"I don't wanna go!" Kieron whined, holding onto the pole as I tried to pry him off.

I huffed, wondering where exactly this kid got his strength from. "I promise we'll do this again, but Mom says it's time for you to go back with her."

"No!"

"Tyler!" I turn to try and get the help of my friend, only to see him standing with his phone out. "Hey! A little help here?"

Rolling his eyes, he thankfully puts his phone away, coming over and managing to lift Kieron on his shoulder in one easy swoop.

We reached my mom eventually, with Kieron in a bit of a huff. He gives Tyler a big hug, and then me a kick in the shin before running off back to the fair with my dad chasing after him.

My mom smiles, placing a hand on my arm, "We'll see you after the fireworks, have fun."

Limping slightly into the Grill, I immediately spot Caroline at one of the booths with Matt and make my way over, not bothering to beat around the bush. I take a seat beside her and rub my leg, trying to ease my pain.

"What happened to you?" Matt asks in amusement.

"Kieron kicked her," Tyler sniggered.

Any sense of ease and humour left Matt's face as he looked at Tyler. He turns to Caroline, "I'm gonna go get another drink." Standing and leaving before any of us can say another word.

Tyler sighs, rubbing the back of his neck.

I exchange a look with Caroline, the two of us feeling hopeless right now. She gives me a knowing look and I nod my head, knowing what I had to do.

I get to my feet, putting my hand on Tyler's arm. "Hey..."

"What is it?" he asks.

I give him a small smile, "Wanna play pool?"

He rolls his eyes, shaking his head, but heads straight for the free pool table only a foot or so away from Matt and Caroline's table.

I do my best to distract Tyler from the fact Matt kept sending him dirty looks, and not the fun kind... I really wish they could at least talk through this. You know, Tyler is usually the one that refuses to forgive and opts for using his fists, it's strange that the role has now reversed.

I mean, ignoring the fact that he did use his fists first...

Anyway.

We're in the middle of a game that I was actually winning for once, only by one but this is the best I've done in years when Mayor Lockwood walks in and starts making a beeline towards us.

"Uh, Ty..."

"Don't try and distract me, Skye, I'm gonna get this and kick your ass."

"Tyler," his dad says, making Tyler knock the side of the white ball and ultimately lose two shots next round. I can't believe it, I might actually win a game of pool! "You and Skye have to leave, right now." What?! No!

"We're enjoying ourselves," Tyler replies, standing his ground.

Suddenly his dad grabs him by the scruff, escalating the situation. "If I tell you to do something, you do it."

"Mayor," Caroline says, thankfully stepping in. "Is everything alright?"

That's when I noticed even Matt standing up and walking over. The mayor, realising that he seemed to have acquired an audience, let's Tyler go, straightening up his own suit.

"Please, Tyler, I need you to go home, now," he says, looking desperate. "Take your friends with you."

"But why? What's going on?" Matt says, asking the big questions.

The mayor looks between us all reluctantly, "I can't explain. All of you need to get home. Now. Please."

I don't think I've ever seen Tyler's dad look so helpless, and asking Tyler so desperately to do something. I don't think Tyler has either because he nods his head in reluctant agreement.

He passes Tyler his keys and we all walk out of the Grill, wondering what on earth is going on.

We all walk out into the car park, and it's like I can hear the warning signs going off in my head.

I stop as the others reach the car, looking back towards the fair. "You guys go on ahead..."

"Skye, my dad said we shouldn't be here, he looked serious," Tyler objected.

I nod in agreement but glance back towards where the crowds seem to be gathering for the fireworks, where ultimately I know my family will be. "I know I just...I've gotta make sure my family's okay. I promise I'll be fine, I just...I gotta go."

Reluctantly, Tyler nods his head, bringing me in for a tight hug before we part our separate ways.

As I rush back into the crowd, I take my phone out, noticing that I had a good 10 missed calls from Damon, another 4 between Stefan and Elena. Shit, something must be going down.

I try to call Damon back as I weave my way through the crowd, looking around for any sign of my parents and Kieron. After the third try, he finally picks up.

_"Not the best timing, Skye."_

"What's going on, Damon?" I ask, trying to listen properly while the mayor stood on the podium, making some speech. "The mayor told Tyler and me to leave, and you've left all these calls, and now I can't find my family and I'm worried something is going down."

"_The tomb vampires are here."_

"What?"

_"They're going after founding families..."_

My heart drops and I start rushing, not caring if I end up shoving people in my way.

_"The council are planning on using the device, you know, the one that doesn't work anymore? You have to get out of here, please."_

"My family is still here, Damon," I say, making my way to the outskirts of the crowd, standing on one of the benches to get a look around the crowd. "I promise I'll get out of here as soon as I've found them just be careful, okay?"

_"Skye-"_

I cut off the call, shoving my phone in my pocket and trying to spot my family, a sign of them at least. Perhaps Kieron on my dad's shoulders, or the back of my mom's head, something, anything.

And then the fireworks go off.

Looking up momentarily, I hear cheering from all around me, but am able to distinguish one particular voice, not that far from where I stood.

Just as I'm about to turn to look, a sudden sharp pain strikes through my head, making me cry out in pain.

I felt my eyes rolling into the back of my head, my head smacking the grass beneath me, and then nothing.

* * *

One second Stefan was dragging Elena away from the crowd, ready to protect her from any potential attackers, the next he was kneeling on the ground, crying out in pain, his head bursting feeling like a million tiny needles were poking at him.

"What's going on? What's happening?" he vaguely heard Elena asking him.

"My head..." he groans, unable to move.

The pain feels like it lasts forever, at one point he's sure he's being moved, and then it's all suddenly over. He can think again, hear again, the pain gone.

"What happened?" Alaric asked him.

"My head, it was in agony," Stefan said, rubbing his head.

"I seen at least 5 vampires go down," Alaric said, turning to Elena, "They were taking them to your family's old building."

Pieces fall into place, and Stefan comes to the conclusion... "It's the Gilbert device, it has to be."

Elena shakes her head, "It can't be, Bonnie deactivated it. How did they manage to get it to work?"

"Maybe she didn't," Alaric said.

"She did," Elena insisted, "We saw her do it."

"No, no, he's right," Stefan says, agreeing with Alaric. "We asked Bonnie, someone who hates vampires, to deactivate a device that could protect people against vampires." And that's when he realises something else. "Where is Damon?"

"I don't know," Alaric said, shaking his head, "I haven't seen him since this whole thing went down."

That's when Stefan hears it...

"The building's on fire..."

* * *

"Skye," I hear a voice hiss beside me, making me groan. "Skye, wake up, damn it."

I didn't want to wake up, I didn't want to move, I didn't want to do anything, just wanted my head to stop pounding.

But then I start having trouble breathing.

"Damn it, Skye."

I feel a hand on my shoulder dragging me towards them and rolling me onto my side.

That's when I start hearing the crackling, start feeling just how hot it's getting.

Opening my eyes, blinking away the dryness, I come face to chest with a dark t-shirt and leather jacket. Looking up slightly, I see Damon looking down at me, worry clear in his tired eyes.

Normally, I'd feel very different about being this close to him, but considering I've just spotted a staked vampire in a room full of screaming tomb vampires, all of us surrounded by fire, in what appears to be a basement, there's a lot more to focus on right now.

I start coughing again, covering my face to try and block out the smoke.

"Hey, you're okay, what happened?"

"I-I passed out, my head...god my head, it was so painful. Where the hell are we? What happened to you?"

"John Gilbert injected me with vervain, we're in the basement of the old Gilbert building, and the device...it worked."

"But...I thought Bonnie deactivated it."

"Doesn't seem like it..." he groans, looking utterly exhausted. "Can you get up?"

I nod my head, managing to get into a sitting position, covering my face with my sleeve to try and avoid the rising smoke. Looking around, I see others, all lying down, groaning.

One person I really didn't expect to see down here though, looking just as up and aware as I am was Tyler's dad.

"Mayor?" I say, getting his attention.

He whirls around, looking at me in confusion. "Skye?" He turns and sees Damon beside me, turning over with a groan. "Damon? What are you both doing down here?"

"I'm a vampire," Damon says in a 'duh' tone of voice. "Dunno what Skye's excuse is, what's yours?"

The mayor, looking terrified starts crawling away from us and ends up straight in the lap of one of the tomb vampires, who promptly snaps his neck.

I flinch, feeling tears start to form only to be dried up quickly.

God, Tyler's dad...

I feel someone grabbing my wrist, and then the sinking of teeth ripping into my skin. I scream, trying to pull away from the tomb vampire who was not going gentle into their attack.

"Hey!" Damon yells and, even in his vervain induced state, manages to rip me away from the vampire, smacking them once before seeming to lose his strength again. "Back off!"

Now free, I shuffle backwards a few paces, helping Damon move as well. The man was a lot heavier than I was expecting.

I look down at my now bloodied wrist, wincing upon looking at the mangled mess. Skin ripped, blood oozing, it looked like something from a horror film. And it stung like a bitch.

"How are we getting out of here?" I wonder aloud, looking towards the staircase, engulfed heavily in flames. Not that way. I begin looking for a window exit somewhere.

I suddenly start coughing again, crouching lower to the ground again to try and get some clean air. God, we were gonna suffocate in here if we didn't get out soon.

"Skye," Damon says beside me. I turn to look at him after ending my coughing fit, seeing the defeated look in his eyes.

I shake my head, "No, we're getting out of this, we just gotta find a way..."

The screams that had been ringing out were slowly quieting down, dying out as the vampires took their last breaths.

We're losing time.

I look around again, trying to find an opening somewhere, perhaps a fire extinguisher, or a heavy sheet, something...

It gets harder to breathe the longer I'm sitting up, feeling the heat on my face, in my mouth, in my lungs.

"Skye," Damon says, tugging on my arm gently, bringing me down to his level. "I'm so sorry..."

"It's not your fault, Damon," I tell him, brushing a hand through his hair.

"If I hadn't come into your life..." he releases a humourless laugh, closing his eyes.

"No," I say, leaning my head on his chest, "You've been...so good."

He scoffs, not believing me.

Suddenly, a wooden post collapses behind us, making me scream in fright.

I feel Damon's arms tightly around me, holding me to his chest as I finally start crying.

We're going to die.

We're actually going to die.

And it's gonna hurt...

I think that's what terrifies me most, not that I'm going to die, but that it's gonna hurt so bad.

"Damon..." I say, holding onto him tightly. "If we...if we're gonna...oh god..."

It's gradual, noticeable enough for me to stop in my thoughts, but it seemed like the fire on the staircase had gone down...

And there runs in Stefan.

Never have I ever been so happy to see that hero hair.

"Stefan!" I call only to break out into another coughing fit. It got his attention at least.

He vamp speeds over, leaning down quickly and helping Damon get to his feet with a groan. Supporting him on either side, the vervain clearly still affecting him, we head towards the stairs as quickly as possible.

Halfway up though, there's another creak and snap.

I blink and find that the three of us all collapse outside, falling to the floor choking for fresh air. The cool night air refreshing, god I'll never take fresh air for granted again.

Elena rushed over to us, placing a hand on my back as I took in gulps of air. "Oh my god, Skye..."

"Skye..." I hear Bonnie gasp. I turn and glare at her with tears finally able to fall from my eyes. She comes closer. "God, I'm so - "

"No!" I cried, shaking my head. "No!"

"Skye," I hear Stefan say, placing a hand on my shoulder, "You're hurt you - "

"Don't!" I cry, wrapping my arms around myself, unable to stop myself from shaking.

I close my eyes, burying my head down and taking deep breaths, trying to block out everything else that was going on and just focus on the fact that I'm okay, I got out, and Damon did too.

Wait, he did get out, right?

My eyes snap open and I begin to panic when I catch him lying on the ground, taking long deep breaths. I reach over, grabbing his hand, gripping it tightly in mine just to confirm he's here, he's okay, we got out.

We got out.

* * *

**Wordcount: 4,445  
****Proofread?: A lil :)**

**A lil short one, a lil filler one, but something to just test them waters and see if the site has stopped having a tantrum. ****I'll hopefully have another chapter out by next weekend as I'm trying my best to focus on uni at the moment. If you enjoyed or have any suggestions or anything you want to say, feel free to leave me a cheeky wee review!  
**

_Cheeky wee review section_

**AndTheSaintsAreAllMadeOfGold - Thank you for letting me know there was something up with last chapter! And for letting me panic to you lmao sorry about that. There's some things I need to work around in Season 2, but I'm super excited about it too! It's gonna be good...**

**PrincessMagic - THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SPAMMING ME WITH REVIEWS seeing I had a good idk 10 more reviews was insane and made me very happy so thank you sm! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and are just as excited for Season 2 as I am!**


	26. Chapter 26 - Worst Night Ever

**A bit of a short one, but I've been busy and I'm currently procrastinating soooo... pray for my grades!**

* * *

We didn't realise that there was more to come from tonight.

Turns out Tyler, Caroline and Matt all got into a car accident, Tyler having heard some noise that no one else heard, according to Matt.

The boys were both okay, but Caroline...

For the second time this month, I sat in the waiting room, waiting to hear the news of whether my friend was okay or not. Except for this time, it was looking much worse...

After the ordeal with the fire, it was all a bit of a blur. I got healed up with someone's vampire blood, and then Elena walked with me to find my family.

Kieron was no longer in a huff after getting to see the fireworks and allowed me to pull him into a tight hug. My dad asked me why I smelt all smokey, Elena making up the excuse that we got a bit too close to the firepits.

I couldn't help but stare my parents down as they heard her excuse, wondering if they knew what was happening tonight; if they knew the vampires were being burned alive right now.

Surely they wouldn't have known, if they did they wouldn't have kept Kieron here, right? They would have kept us all home, right? They wouldn't have risked our lives, right?

Right?

No matter how hard I stared, I couldn't tell if they were in on this plot or not.

Either way, it was getting late and Elena gave me a tight hug before she left, letting me know to call her if I need anything. On the walk to where my parents had parked the car though is when I got a phone call from Tyler...

A drop off at the hospital and here we are, still waiting.

As soon as I had walked up to Tyler he'd broken down, the guilt eating him alive. Matt was beside him, worry clear on his face. I gave him a hug afterwards, allowing him to fill me in as Tyler excused himself for a bit.

Matt had phoned up everyone, letting them know Caroline wasn't doing so good. Her mom was around somewhere, but I hadn't seen her yet.

Seeing Tyler though only reminded me of the fact we'd lost someone tonight already...

And when he came back, his eyes a little red, I couldn't bring myself to tell him that he'd lost his dad tonight, that he'd had his neck snapped and then burned in a fire, because how was I supposed to explain how I knew that?

Instead, I sit beside him throughout this, holding his hand, wondering when he would find out and wanting to be there for him when he did.

That's how it's been for the last half an hour. Matt keeps pacing, struggling to sit still, but Tyler looks drawn in on himself, his grip on my hand still strong despite how sweaty we both definitely are.

I can't seem to stop my leg from bouncing, watching each doctor coming out and wondering if they'll be the ones letting us know how Caroline is doing, if she's...

And the person who I wanted to see the least right now had just walked around the corner. I knew Matt would have called Bonnie, but I was not ready to spend any time with her right now.

It's petty, I know, but I refuse to even look at her while she stands in front of us, talking to Matt. I know we should all come together in a time like this, support each other while waiting to hear if Caroline is okay, but something in the back of my head can't help thinking that this is all Bonnie's fault...

If she'd just deactivated the device like she said she would, then Caroline wouldn't be in the hospital right now, Tyler's dad would still be alive, and Damon and I never would have ended up almost burning alive underneath the Gilbert's old doctor's office.

"Skye," Tyler says, bringing me out of my thoughts, a look of concern on his face. "Are you okay? You're shaking."

I take a deep breath to try and calm my nerves, nodding my head. I don't refuse the hug though when he wraps an arm around my shoulder.

A few moments later, Caroline's mom comes around the corner, making all of us stand to greet her. Liz Forbes is one of the strongest women I've known growing up here, Caroline being the product of that, but I don't think I've ever seen her look so helpless in this moment.

Matt brings her in for a hug, something I think she needs right now. "We haven't heard anything yet, but it shouldn't be too long now."

Liz nods her head, thanking him kindly. She then turns to Tyler and I, and I can already feel my heart dropping. "Tyler...have you talked to you mom?"

He nods his head, "I texted her, she knows I'm here."

"Call her," she insists, and I know what's coming.

Tyler, none the wiser, nods and goes off to phone his mom. I watch him walk away, not wanting to be too far away in case he needs anything.

As Liz goes to speak with one of the doctors, Matt following her, I'm left with alone with Bonnie.

Great.

"Skye - "

I opt to walk away, not wanting to do or say anything I may regret. It's a fragile time, wounds still fresh, emotions high with stress. Right now it just isn't worth it.

In my haste, I don't realise I've run straight into someone. Thankfully that someone just so happened to be Damon.

Despite only being away from each other for a mere few hours, the instant relief from seeing him standing there, reminding me he was alright, man...

"Where's the fire?"

I give him an unamused look.

Raising an eyebrow, giving me a little smirk, "Too soon?"

Instead of giving him any trouble, knowing that he uses humour to cover up real emotions, I pull him in for a hug, wrapping my arms around his waist.

"How's she doing?" he asks, rubbing a hand up and down my back.

"Not good," I say, reluctantly pulling away, not wanting to be a nuisance. "The doctors haven't really spoken to us, but she...god, I just want her to be okay."

"She will be, I promise," he says, nodding his head. He bit his lip nervously and looked behind me, only to drag me back down another corridor. Stopping in front of me, looking confused, he clapped his hands together. "Okay, I know this isn't the best time but I have to tell someone, and you seem the most appropriate."

Now I was also confused, and perhaps a little concerned.

I raised an eyebrow, wondering what this could be. "What is it? Did something happen?"

"Elena kissed me."

My jaw dropped.

Okay. I don't know what I expected to hear, but I can tell you I did not expect that, literally anything but that.

I scratched my forehead in confusion. "Elena? Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Does vervain cause hallucinations?"

"No."

"Hm...was she hallucinating?"

Damon deadpans. "Skye."

"Sorry," I apologise, flinging my hands up in defence. "I'm just confused as to why she would kiss you like...she and Stefan are happy together, and it's not as if you've ever shown interest...have you?"

"No!" Damon scoffs, almost offended. It's selfish, but that reaction did make me a little happy. "See? This is why I'm mean to everybody, if I'm mean to everybody then things like this don't happen."

"You're not mean to me," I point out with a grin.

"Exactly."

I stop grinning, for a moment, not expecting such a serious response. I expected him to come back with a playful, lighthearted response. Not this, whatever this is. What am I supposed to make of this?!

I'm sure he can hear my heart racing, the twitch at the side of his mouth giving it away.

Before I can even think of a response though, I hear sniffling. Peaking around the corner, my heart breaks seeing Tyler sitting on the floor, head buried down.

"Ah," Damon says, a knowing look on his face. He nods his head. "Go check on Lockwood, I'll check up on Liz, see if there are any updates."

"Thanks, Damon," I say, placing a hand on his arm before going to see Tyler.

The corridor is empty, a ghost town compared to how busy the waiting area is, probably why he chose to come here.

I approach slowly, letting him know that someone else was here, before squatting in front of him.

"Ty?" I say quietly, watching as he lifts his head, tears running down his face.

He turns to look at me, looking completely and utterly drained. Lip quivering, he sobs. "It's my dad..."

I feel tears forming again, for maybe the hundredth time tonight. "I'm so sorry."

Tyler leans forward, pulling me into a bone-crushing hug. I don't complain though, just let him cry into my shoulder, trying my best to comfort him through his grief.

Tonight has been the worst night ever.

* * *

I phoned a taxi, it wouldn't be arriving for another 20 minutes or so but it gives me time to get things sorted.

Matt had come looking for us, we'd been away for a while, and found us still sitting on the floor. He took over with Tyler, making sure he wasn't alone right now while I could gather myself together.

I walked back to the waiting room, hoping to know if there had been any updates on Caroline.

Turning a corner, I appear to have interupted a conversation between Damon, Elena and Bonnie of all people. An odd bunch to be seen conversing together any day of the week.

They all seem to stop and look at me when I appear, making me wonder if I'd been spoken about...

I raise an eyebrow, looking between them all, "What?"

Bonnie gives Damon a knowing look, crossing her arms over her chest.

With a roll of his eyes, Damon walks up to me, placing his hands on my shoulders. "Caroline isn't doing too good..." No. No, no, no... "...but I can give her some of my blood. She's in a hospital, so there's no way she'll turn. It'll be in and out of her system before she knows it."

"Do it," I agree, looking up at him, pleading, "Please."

"Of course," he says, giving me a small smile. "How's Lockwood?"

I shrugged, "Not great, I'm gonna take him home. The taxi should be here soon. I just came to see if there were any more updates."

"Hey," Elena says, walking over to us, making Damon take a step back which I may have laughed at if the atmosphere wasn't so heavy. "Are you going to give Caroline your blood then?"

"Yeah," Damon says, giving Elena a distrustful look.

Elena gives him a confused look, "What's wrong?"

"You know what you did."

Ah, so we're doing this now.

"What did I do?"

And I'm of course in the middle of it.

"Look, you can pretend all you want but what you did was wrong," Damon said, crossing his arms over his chest. "You can't just try and kiss me like that, especially when you're in a relationship with Stefan."

Elena let's out a laugh of disbelief, glancing at me only to see I'm also not laughing.

"You guys aren't serious, right?"

I shrugged, "Why would Damon lie about you trying to kiss him?"

"Because it's Damon?"

"Hey!"

"At a time like this, though," I said in his defence.

"Exactly," Elena said, looking annoyed, "I can't believe this..."

"Elena!"

Oh thank god, aunt Jenna.

Jenna gives Damon a strange look before talking to Elena, seeming to start on about where she had been and that she had told her one thing but Elena didn't know or something.

"Yes, I did."

"No, you didn't."

It's gonna be a long night...

Glancing to my side though, Damon looks like he's just had an epiphany.

"Hey," I say, waving a hand in front of his face. "What is it?"

"Katherine," he says, shaking his head.

I blink in confusion, looking back at Elena who also looks confused at the mention of her doppelganger. "What about her?"

Grimacing, he says, "She's here."

My jaw drops. "You're joking."

"I wish I was..."

Katherine...is here.

Does that mean that it wasn't Elena who kissed Damon, but Katherine? It must be. Why would she do that though? Why would she pretend to be Elena while doing that? For the drama?

You know what, yeah, for the drama.

I felt my phone buzzing in my hand, damnit, the taxi.

"It's too late for this, I've got to go," I tell them, indicating to my phone, "Let me know if anything else happens, yeah?"

Before either of them can respond, I hurry back to the corridor I'd left Tyler and Matt in, finding them both standing up now, hugging it out. At least there's one good thing that came out of this night...

* * *

The taxi ride to Tyler's house was quiet. We sat in the back in silence, listening to whatever game it was the taxi driver was listening to. It was all a bunch of jumbled numbers and names to me. In no time at all, we had arrived at the house.

My dad was already waiting outside for us with money to pay for the taxi. We'd entered and found my mom sitting with Carol on the sofa. She stood as soon as she saw us, quickly pulling Tyler into a tight hug.

That night we stayed with them.

Kieron had taken already made himself comfortable on Tyler's bed when we'd walked upstairs, making me smile. He was knocked out cold.

Tyler gave me a pair of shorts and the baggy Batman t-shirt he had managed to steal back from me at some point to sleep in. He hadn't spoken much since we had arrived.

When I had come back from the bathroom, I found him already laying on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

I hopped in beside him, feeling exhausted from tonight's events. I didn't say anything, just gave his hand a squeeze before closing my eyes.

But every time I did it felt like I was back there, stuck underground, in a burning building, watching a man get his neck snapped, watching another burning alive. Every time I felt myself drifting off to sleep, I seemed to be filled with that sudden fear, and I'd snap my eyes open and be stuck away again.

I glanced over to the digital clock over on the other side of the bed, seeing it read 3 in the morning. Come on. I lay back down with a sigh, hoping to get some form of sleep tonight.

"Can't sleep?"

I snort, should have been guessed he wouldn't have been able to sleep either.

"Afraid not," I whisper back, turning to face Tyler in the dark. I couldn't tell if he had been crying anymore in this lighting. "How are you doing?"

He sighs. "Tonight has been the worst..."

"Yeah..."

"My dad is bad enough, but Care...she's in the hospital because of me...we don't even know if she's gonna make it."

I bite my lip nervously, wondering if Damon's blood helped at all. "She's Caroline, she'll get through it."

"God I hope so..."

I hesitate for a moment wondering if I should ask this right now, figuring no time like the present. "What happened, on the road? Matt said you heard a noise."

He lets out a humourless laugh. "I sound insane, even to myself, nobody else seemed to hear it."

"I heard it," I admitted, picking at my nails. "Well, I heard something, and then I passed out from the pain..."

There's a silence between us for a moment, then I hear him

"You heard it."

"Yeah."

"You're not joking with me right now, right Skye? Because this is serious."

"I'm not joking," I tell him seriously, hoping he believes me.

And it's now I realise I'm at a stalemate.

I could tell him everything, right here right now. Everything.

I could tell him that the device that caused the ringing noise inside of our heads was only supposed to affect vampires, which also exist by the way. That for some reason it affected me and you and your dad, that we were trapped in a burning building tonight and I witnessed him getting his neck snapped by one of the vampires that were planning on killing all of the founding families for revenge from a good hundred-odd years ago.

I could tell him that almost every night for the past few weeks I've been having dreams of people who I may or may not have known in a past life, the only thing connecting me to these past lives seeming to be the birthmark on the back of my neck.

I could tell him about Lana, how she and her family didn't just take off for no reason, that they had tried to kill me, believing that my birthmark was a bad omen and I was better off dead than alive.

I could tell him that Damon and Stefan were vampires, that they were good, but now that another vampire who looked exactly like Elena who is not exactly good is apparently back in town and ready to cause trouble.

Could I tell him all that though? Would it be right to bring him into this mess? Would it not be better to keep him in the dark, ignorance is bliss, right?

But looking at his face and seeing how lost he looked, how desperate he was for just an explanation for tonight's events, I couldn't hold back.

"Come on," I said quietly, sitting up and getting out of bed.

"What?" Tyler whispered back confused.

"We need to talk," I said, rummaging around to find a clean jumper, shrugging it on once it was found. "It's not like we're sleeping anytime soon."

I hear Tyler get up with a groan, also grabbing a hoody and a pair of shoes.

The pair of us sneak out his room, seeing that all the lights were off. We crept down the stairs, just like we'd done many times before, heading to the kitchen and opening up the fridge to see what we can bring for a snack.

After grabbing the supplies, Tyler grabs the keys to his car, and we sneak out.

As soon as we're in the car, a little chilly in shorts we put the heating on, turning the radio on low and listening to the surprisingly upbeat tunes you hear on the radio at 3 in the morning.

"Alright," Tyler says, cracking open a bag of chips. "What is it you need to talk about that we couldn't have done inside, where it's warm?"

"You're not gonna believe me at first," I tell him seriously, "But just give me a chance to explain, okay?"

Raising an eyebrow, Tyler shrugs before nodding his head, shoving a handful of chips in his mouth.

And well, here it goes...

It took a while, the sun had started rising by the time I was fully finished explaining everything, and I mean _everything_ that had happened in the past few months.

And, well...

"No fucking way."

Tyler was reacting quite appropriately to it all.

We'd gone for a drive after consuming all of our snacks. A drive is good for storytelling, especially late at night.

Now, we sat in the driveway. Tyler looking absolutely gobsmacked.

"This is...insane," he said for perhaps the fifth time since we got back.

"Yup," I agreed, also for the fifth time since we got back.

I can't say anything though, I was in quite a bit of shock when I first discovered vampires were real. I mean, I'd seen one murdering my history teacher but that was beside the point.

"Remember, you can't tell anyone that you know," I remind him seriously.

"Not even Elena or Bonnie, or the vampire brothers?"

"Especially not them."

"What about our parents?"

"Definitely not them, dear lord."

"So, just you?" Tyler says, confused.

"For now, yes," I say. "Just...let me talk to Damon and that before you walk up to them one day and start talking Voldemorts and stuff."

"Ah, yes, the codeword."

"If anything big happens supernaturally, then I promise to warn you in advance," I say sincerely.

"Thanks, Skye," he replies, giving me a small smile. "I promise not to share this with anyone else."

I grin, rubbing my eyes and yawning. Of course, once it was the morning I would start being tired.

We head back inside after that, sneaking back up the stairs and back into bed, only to be woken up by Kieron jumping up and down not even two hours later...great.

* * *

**Wordcount: 3,629  
****Proofread?: I just read it now! Proof!**

**I know, I know, a bit of a filler, but necessary! Tyler is a good boi! He just needs the chance. This is also also a bit of a warning that there may be some uh...shenanigans on the horizon...**

**Don't even worry about it, that's future chapters :)))**

**Thank you to everyone who fav'd, followed, and wrote a cheeky review last chapter! V kind of you! It keeps me motivated to get these chapters out asap! Even if they aren't always plot-heavy.**

_Replying to them cheeky wee reviews_

**Guest (7th) - It makes me happy when people say they like how their relationship is developing uwu. Also, yes **_I know exactly who Skye is going to end up with_** but hey, we still got ages until the end so don't even worry about it, just enjoy the drama! Thank you so much for your mega quick review!**

**Guest (8th) - TADA! Bruh how did u even know lmao. I'm excited for the drama that is gonna come with Tyler knowing earlier than he should, it's gonna be fun. Bonnie fucked up, but I'm gonna see if she can redeem herself in some upcoming shenanigans... Thank you for leaving such an awesome review!**

**AndTheSaintsAreAllMadeOfGold - Thank you so much for your cheeky wee review! I honestly didn't mean to make Bonnie so unlikeable but whoops. I'm hoping to change that soon with...shenanigans :)) Tyler and Skye's friendship is ! it brings me so much joy, it's just chaos in a bottle.**

**Guest (9th) - Skye and Damon do seem to be doing well so far lmao, we'll have to see if anything changes when we introduce some...new people lmao. Thank you for leaving a cheeky wee review! **


	27. Chapter 27 - The Mayor's Wake

**Here we go! Sorry this took a little longer to come out! I wanted to wait until I had a bit more of the next chapter written before posting this one, it's been a little difficult to write because...well, I'll tell you next chapter.**

**For now though? Enjoy!**

* * *

It was the next next day, technically. My family and I had gone home the second night, promising to be there bright and early tomorrow morning for the mayor's wake.

Tyler was not looking forward to it, and that's fair. As it was the mayor, this event was going to be public rather than just family and friends. There were going to be a whole bunch of strangers that will want to talk to him tomorrow, and that's not really what he wants right now.

Either way, we were going to be there.

Tyler had gotten a phone call from Matt though, telling us that Caroline was awake and recovery.

I sent Damon a thank you message after that, glad that Caroline was going to be fine. I made a plan to go visit her tomorrow morning before attending the wake, not having had the time to see her today. I'm just happy she's okay.

And that's what I did the next day.

After another pretty much sleepless night, I got up and ready, putting on a black dress and pair of black Chelsea boots for the wake later. I tied my hair up to keep it out the way, not wanting to bother with it on a day like this. Minimal makeup was applied so I could cover up the bags under my eyes.

The morning is crisp, and it's refreshing for a while, but the novelty runs out real quick when the bus ends up being late. Eventually not just one but two arrived, typical.

It's been a very quiet morning for me until I arrive at the hospital, which always seems to be active in one way or another.

I get given the room number and make my way to where Caroline was staying, seeing Matt already in there, sitting and chatting with her. She was sitting up looking awake and happy.

I grinned. She was okay.

"Hey," I say, walking into the room, already feeling like I'm about to cry.

"Skye, did you bring any snacks?" Caroline asked, nudging an empty tray. "I'm starving, we never got to finish our dinner the other night and the portions they give me are so small..."

"Well, of course," I grin, brandishing a large bag of Doritos from my bag and passing it to her. "Who do you think I am?"

"Uh, I love you!" she says, making me laugh.

"Wow, Skye," Matt says half-jokingly, "Back off my girl, will you?"

"Can't help being this cute, Matty."

Getting up early, standing out in the cold, it was all worth it to be able to just hang out with Caroline and Matt for a while, not have to worry over anything supernatural and just enjoying the fact that Caroline was going to be fine.

Well, she might not be able to be there to plan through some of the fair nights but that's hardly important right now.

It comes to a point where I'm pushing my time, and I have to leave or else I will be late. And I don't want to leave Tyler on his own on a day like this...

I give Caroline a gentle hug, wary that she's still healing, and say a see you later to Matt.

It seemed like with everything that happened he and Tyler had some time to talk and or came to the decision that fighting over what happened was a lot less important than their friendship. I'm glad they're on good terms again, it just sucks that this is what it took for it to happen so soon...

* * *

Being one of the first to arrive at the Lockwood mansions and seeing just how much food and how many chairs were set up really drove it home that today was going to be a long one.

Tyler was already standing at the door, speaking to an old couple, the old lady holding his hands and the man patting his shoulder. Tyler looked uncomfortable, smiling politely though and directing them in.

I walked up the steps to greet him, pulling in for a hug which he shrugs off promptly.

Alright, new tactic.

"Progress report," I say, having a glance inside. "How out-numbered are we?"

Tyler crosses his arms over his chest, turning away, but I catch the side of his mouth twitching. "Five to one right now, but we'll be swarmed within the hour."

"Damn," I say, copying him by crossing my arms. "We need to come up with an escape tactic..."

And so for the first half of the day where Tyler was stationed to welcome people in, we joked about escape routes and battle strategies in order to avoid the elephant in the room.

Someone who I wasn't sure we would be seeing here today was Tyler's uncle, Mason, but here he was, getting out of his car and walking up the drive.

"Whoa, mama."

"Skye."

"Did I say that out loud?" I cringe, "Sorry, Ty, don't worry, I'll play it cool."

Tyler snorts, rolling his eyes as Mason walks up the steps.

"So the black sheep returns," Tyler says, drawing his uncle's attention.

Mason gives him a once over, raising an eyebrow in almost disbelief. "Tyler? Last time I checked, you were 14 and skinny."

Tyler, unamused replies, "Pretty sure you saw me at least two years after that."

I don't know what kind of exchange they just had, probably a dudebro thing, but they ended up hugging it out.

As they pull back, I can't hold back anymore. "Hi, Mason," I grin, "Remember me?"

I ignore Tyler rolling his eyes, and accept the bearhug from Mason.

"Skye grew up, huh? How's Ty been treating you?"

"Oh, terribly."

"Oi!"

"Aw, can't have that," Mason said, wrapping one arm around my shoulder and the other around Tyler's. "Come on, let's get a drink and you can tell me all about it."

And well, it looks like Tyler's been relieved of his duty for the day.

We head in, Mason's presence somehow becoming a barrier between Tyler and everyone else, making it so they leave him alone. He might be the so-called Blacksheep of the family, but he's good to Tyler and that's what counts.

Walking around the house for a bit, we eventually find Carol Lockwood, and she welcomes Mason with open arms, happy to see him. He and the mayor never got along too well, and Mason is a bit of a drifter, so she wasn't sure if he was going to make it.

I excuse myself from the family reunion, deciding they would probably need a moment together.

Plus, I needed to pee.

On my way back from the bathroom I decide to see if I can get Tyler and me a couple of drinks, standing around talking nonsense all day has been thirsty work.

I spot the back of Elena's head near the display of food, making me realise I'm also quite hungry.

"Hey," I say, coming up next to her. I grab a stick and stab a small block of cheese. "How long have you been here? I was hoping it would be quieter...by...now." My words trail off at the end and I blink once, slowly, before seeming to come back to my senses.

She tilts her head at me, a look of concern plastered on her face. "Skye, are you okay?"

"Yeah," I nodded, grabbing another small stick for another block of cheese. "Just...I know it isn't exactly the place, but I feel like I ought to know, why did you try and kiss Damon?"

"What? No, I never," she said, blinking in shock. "You know that was Katherine, right?"

"Yeah, I do know, which is why I'm asking you," I said, gripping onto the tiny pieces of wood, them and my bracelet being the only form of protection I have right now. "Why did you try and kiss Damon?"

And the facade drops like a heavy curtain.

With her shoulders relax, and the false look on her face gone, she looks like a totally different person.

Katherine.

The drawl in her tone really put the nail in the coffin, I wasn't dealing with just anyone.

"What gave it away?"

"I just knew."

"But how?" she asked, taking a threatening step forward.

"I don't know," I hissed back truthfully. "I looked at you and you weren't Elena. You look like her, sound like her and even acted like her perfectly, but I just knew that you weren't her."

Katherine takes a glance down to my wrist, and for a moment I wonder if she's going to try anything, like ripping my bracelet off.

"Well, I guess I should properly introduce myself," she says, giving me a bittersweet smile. "I'm Katherine Pierce, but you would have known me better under a different name."

I blinked. "You know..."

"You don't exactly hide it now, do you?" she says, raising a hand up to touch the back of my neck, making me freeze with how deathly cold her hand is. "What a strange coincidence, you and the doppelganger appearing in the same little town..."

She knows, I mean, I wouldn't be surprised since I have definitely seen her in these memories I've had, but what does she mean by old name? I can't remember it. More importantly, will she be able to tell me what this means for me? Will she want to?

"Go ahead," she says, picking up a glass of champagne. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything," I said, following her as she walks into another room, watching around to make sure we don't bump into anyone we actually know, or even Elena herself, I'm not sure what time she's supposed to be coming but it'll look bad if they're both here at the same time.

"Hm, how about you tell me what you know, and then I'll see if I can fill the blanks in."

That sounds...generous.

Despite my suspicions about this maybe becoming a one-sided deal, I can't think of any reason why giving up this information would put me in any further harm.

I mean, we were friends during one of my many lives, maybe we could be friends again?

And so I tell her... "I've been having dreams, memories from I assume past lives, some of them with you. It seemed like we were friends. There were two gentlemen that we seemed to spend our time with, but one night you seemed afraid of them and for our wellbeing so we ran, and then one of them killed me."

There was a pause, a moment where the only noise was the sound of indistinguishable chatter around us, where it seemed like we had a mutual understanding and respect for each other, and then I blinked and it was like everything had changed once more.

"Yes, that was the first life of yours we had met," she said, turning her head away.

"We were friends," I said, meant to ask though said more like a statement. "Right?"

The smile on her face came from pity, even I could tell that. "Yes, we were friends."

I didn't miss the emphasis on the past tense she used with her no-nonsense non-negotiable tone of voice.

Well, that's that on that then...

"And then you stabbed me in the back."

I swear I just heard my neck snap from how fast I turned. "What?"

"Well," Katherine drawled, "To be fair to you, your memories hadn't returned yet, and you'd already been caught up with...well, it doesn't matter."

"I'm sorry," I apologised.

"Don't be," she says, "I would have done the same thing."

I smiled, feeling for a moment as if I'd understood some inside joke.

I wondered what our life together has been like over the years, when we were friends, to what happened afterwards.

But something tells me that I'm not getting any more answers out of her today.

"Katherine," Stefan said, appearing out of what felt like nowhere, arms held behind his back innocently.

The atmosphere in the room changed within a second of his appearance.

Without turning to face him, Katherine smiled at me, looking more like herself than Elena. "It was nice talking to you, Skye."

"Yeah," I agreed, taking a glance at Stefan, noticing how stiff he was. I assume this was my cue to leave. "I'll see you around..."

I backed off from them, opting to go regroup with Tyler. God, Tyler. I almost forgot where I was, what day it was!

I mean, looking back on it, maybe it wasn't the smartest move to go and leave Stefan and Katherine together on their own, but hey! That's a future me problem!

For now, I managed to regroup with Tyler and find that Matt had arrived too!

The three of us go around, Matt and I protecting Tyler from any nosey or pushy grievers wanting to console our friend, and being there to get him out of dodge when things get too much talking to the same people for too long.

I kinda felt like a secret service agent.

At one point I end up bumping into Bonnie, but with Matt and Tyler around and with today's event, I didn't want to cause any drama. Well, that was until she got the other two to leave and we were left alone.

"What is it?"

"Skye, I know you're mad at me and for good reason, but I wanted to let you know to be careful," she said, biting her lip nervously, "Katherine's here."

"I know."

Bonnie blinked. "You know? Why didn't you say anything?"

I shrugged, also not sure why I didn't sound the alarm either. "She's with Stefan, I figured he has it handled. How did you even figure it out?"

"I thought she was Elena," she said, shaking her head. "It's so freaking, they look exactly the same. But I touched her wrist and just...knew she was a vampire and that it couldn't have been Elena."

"Not yet anyway."

A beat. "What?"

I shrugged, "Well, Elena might turn into one someday. To stay with Stefan, you know."

Her face hardened. "Don't say that."

"It's a fact you may have to face someday, so once you get over this...hatred then maybe things will be alright, and nobody else has to get hurt," I said, staring off to the side.

"Skye..."

"You know I'm sorry about what happened with your gran, and we would have never attempted it knowing that that would have been the outcome," I say shakily, "And I can't possibly understand what you're going through, but I do know that you're angry...were angry, I don't know, all I know is that people died, people, they were people and we're here today because one of those people..."

"Hey," Bonnie interrupts, tightly gripping my hands I only realise was now shaking. "Hey."

I pull back suddenly, "I better..."

I turn and head back inside quickly, taking a deep breath and wondering where the hell those two boys went off to.

The rooms all merge together as I pass through door after door, not sure where exactly my destination is but just knowing that I needed to keep going, keep moving. I'm not sure of who I passed by or who I ended up ignoring as I continued walking.

That is until I reach a dark room, empty.

Finally.

I close the doors behind me, leaning my head against the frame, finally able to breathe.

The chatter died down behind the doors, not completely soundproof but good enough.

I don't know how long I stood there, head pressed against the door, stuck in my thoughts when I heard my phone buzzing. Checking it, I found a text from Tyler, apparently, he and mini-Gilbert had bonded, what a weird day.

Wait a second, if Jeremy is here then...

Elena will also be here.

Shit.

* * *

I did the first thing I could think of and phoned up Damon.

Well, I sure as hell couldn't phone of Stefan, last I checked he was still with Katherine, don't wanna tip her off or anything. And Elena is awful for picking up her phone in a crisis. So Damon it was.

_"Hey, Skye, what's up?"_

Well, he doesn't sound happy.

"Elena and Katherine are both here, I think. And I don't know what - "

_"I know."_

"You know?"

_"Yeah, got Stefan on a kebab over here, say hello Stefan!"_ I hear an unenthusiastic grumble on the other side.

I facepalmed, sighing. "Shit..."

_"Yeah,"_ I hear him agree. _"Apparently you knew she was here? Why didn't you say anything? And w__here have you been all day? I've not had a chance to speak with you and then this happens."_

"I'm sorry," I apologise, wrapping an arm around my front. "It's...been a day. Speaking of, I should go, I'll speak to you later."

Cutting that conversation short, I opt to go and find Tyler. That's why I'm here today, to be there for him. Not for any of this vampire drama, friend drama, anything. Today is about my friend who is grieving, and it should stay like that.

* * *

After what felt like endless hours, I sat on the sofa with a glass of gin and tonic. It had a bitter taste, but it was the drink that my dad gave me and told me will be my last for the night. So I guess I should savour it.

My mom had gone home with Kieron not too long ago, he was tired and it was already quite late. My dad had stayed behind so I wouldn't be in the taxi by myself, among other things.

He and Carol had walked away, whispering all shady in a way I seem to only pick up after discovering their extracurricular vampire activities. How nice it had been, being naive.

This left Tyler and I the only ones left in the room, who knows where Mason was right now?

I watched as Tyler paced back and forth, wondering when his hair got so messed up and eyes got so bloodshot.

He stopped in front of the desk, picking up the framed picture of him with his mom and dad.

I jumped in my seat when he suddenly smashed it on the ground.

"I hate him!" he yells, stomping on it once and continuing to pace in frustration. "God, I hate him!"

"Ty," I said, putting my drink down before standing.

"No, Skye, I hate him, everyone kept telling me how great he was, but he was the worst!"

"I know..."

Tyler cried out, violently pushing all the objects off his dad's desk, proceeding to continue and trash his dad's office, making me jump back and moving towards the door, not sure what to do, not wanting to get in the middle of this but also not leave him either.

Thankfully Mason, hearing the noise, runs in, grabbing and tackling Tyler to the floor.

After a moment of struggling, Tyler finally lies back and starts crying, making me start crying too.

Mason helps him up, letting me move forward to bring Tyler into a hug, one that he accepts this time.

"What happened?" Carol asked, stepping into the room in shock.

Tyler's arms tighten around me, probably regretting his momentary outburst. Mason quickly walks over to Carol and begins to quietly explain what just happened, a lot better than I probably could have.

I know I said this earlier, but I'm so glad Mason came home.

My dad gives me a nod, indicating we should be leaving soon.

That's my family I guess, always the last ones to leave the party. No matter what kind of party we seem to be attending...

* * *

I collapse onto my bed with a sigh, removing my boots and tossing them into the corner, out of the way. Then I take my hair down from its ponytail, taking great pleasure in the fact my scalp can finally relax.

What a day...

I wasn't even around for most of the supernatural part of it, I can't imagine what the others went through. I wonder what happened...I'm sure if something major occurred then I would have been told, right? Know what? I'll figure it all out tomorrow.

I'm home now, my supernatural free zone. Well, except for the supernatural occurrences in my head. Well, does that make me supernatural? Well...that's not getting answered right now.

Just as I feel myself dozing off, still in my clothes and on top of the bedsheets, I hear a tap at my window.

Thinking maybe it's just my imagination or the wind or whatever, I ignore it, turning my head to the side to hopefully get into a proper sleep.

But then I hear it again, this time a bit louder.

What the hell...?

* * *

**Wordcount: 3,591  
****Proofread?: Yeee boiz**

**:)))) yes it was a horrible place to leave it, I'm almost sorry, but hey? Know what produces speedy updates? Cheeky wee reviews. Oh look, here's some now!**

_Cheeky wee reviews!_

**Guest - I feel like this chapter was a big Skye and Tyler friendship episode, so I hope you enjoyed it! It's nice to know you're set in stone with who you ship so early on! It'll be interesting to know whether you feel the same way after...stuff :)))**

**PrincessMagic - Glad you don't mind too much filler because that seems to be all I'm capable of writing right now, my bad! I do love having a few very subtle comedic moments in some chapters, and I'm glad folk like you are able to pick up on it lmao**

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_**Thank u at everyone for leaving lovely reviews and also to everyone who has favourited and followed the story! We surpassed 100 favs the other day! When I think about the numbers like that then wow, that's actually quite a lot of you. Hope you all are staying safe and well wherever you are! Much love!**_


	28. Chapter 28 - Damon Salvatore

**This chapter was something that I had planned in the back of my mind since the beginning of this story. This is 28 chapters in and finally, I got to write this scene.**

**I'm honestly not entirely happy with it, but I think after rewriting it so many times in my head that it's never going to be perfect in my eyes, ****so I would really appreciate it if you could let me know if it was actually any good or not! **

* * *

Despite all my knowledge of previous horror movies, I still decided to get out of bed, rubbing my eye and cursing as I realised I was still wearing makeup.

I slowly walked towards the window where the tapping was coming from. My curtains were drawn back so it was easy enough to see there was a person sitting precariously on the edge of my window frame.

I quickly move forward to unlock my window and lift it up.

"Damon," I whispered, grabbing a hold of his arm as he wobbled slightly from the window opening. "What the hell are you doing?"

He leaned forward, head bumping onto the threshold a couple of inches from my face, his hair falling into his eyes. I didn't realise how long it had gotten recently...

"I missed you," he said, his breath hitting my face making my nose scrunch up.

"You've been drinking," I said, sticking out another arm to hold him steady as he started leaning backwards. "You're drunk as hell."

"Just a little..."

"Why? What happened?"

"Does it matter?" he says, annoyed, meaning something that mattered actually did happen.

In his frustration, Damon had moved and his foot slipped making me almost jump out the window to keep him steady on the ledge as he got his footing once more. Well, that's one way to get an adrenaline rush, don't think I'm feeling too tired anymore.

"Look, can you get down from here?" I said, glancing down to the ground. It was a big fall, and I didn't want him crashing and waking people up. And also hurting himself. "I'll meet you outside and we can talk."

"Why can't I come in?" he said, pouting. "Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I trust you," I sighed, still keeping a tight hold of him and practically keeping him against the threshold.

"Then why can't you let me in?"

How do I explain to him that for the longest time this house has become a supernatural haven, a place I don't need to worry about any danger surrounding vampires or my parents finding out I interact with vampires because well, they haven't been invited it, so there's nothing to worry about.

"Because..." I started, not sure where to continue.

It's when he slips again and I'm almost unable to hold him up that I give.

"Fine! Fine!" I panicked, pulling him back towards me, "Get in here!"

And the seal is broken.

Damon falls forward, collapsing onto my shoulder and making me almost drop him. I manage to hold him up though with a groan, helping him step through the window frame.

We wobble through and I manage to manoeuvre him and drop him onto my bed with a gentle thud.

Man, I hope my family are sleeping right now.

With a sigh, I roll my shoulders and go to close my window, glad I at least won't have to be spending any time out in the cold.

As I step back though, I jump as I realise Damon is standing up again, now beside me.

"Hey," I said, putting a hand on his shoulder, looking up at him. "Come on, sit down and we can talk, yeah?"

I try to lead him back but he stays put and is very hard to move. You ever tried moving a vampire? It's not exactly easy, you know, them having super strength and all.

Instead of moving, he places a hand over my own, still on his shoulder.

"Why do we have to talk?" Damon asks, looking down.

I blinked, wondering why else he was here if not to talk about what must have went down today.

"Well, I mean..."

"All we've done for the past few months is talk..."

"Damon?"

"When I feel like we both want to do a whole lot more..."

Damon then leaned down and kissed me.

The way our arms were angled made it slightly awkward, but I guess I had forgotten what it was like to kiss Damon, as everything else seemed to fall away. He walked us back until I hit my desk, using it then to help me balance as he leaned over me.

My hand fell from his shoulder, travelling up into his hair, god, his hair...

I'd forgotten how good those lips felt moving in tandem with mine, how this simple act itself could make you forget all your worries.

In the back of my mind, I knew I shouldn't be doing this, it definitely felt like I was taking advantage, he was clearly drunk and upset but...for just a moment I was selfish, again.

It took a lot of willpower to come down from that momentary high, finding that even when I pulled away to breathe Damon kept his lips on me, moving down to my neck and...we have to stop this right now!

"Damon," I said, breathless, pulling his face from my neck and placing a hand over his mouth. "Stop."

He groans, rolling his eyes and staying put.

I keep my hand over his mouth as I try to catch my breath, not quite trusting him. "This is...sudden, and I don't want us doing anything when there's clearly something that's happened...so, I know you said you didn't want to talk but..."

Damon pulls my hand away from his mouth before saying, "You care about me, right Skye?"

I blinked in confusion, "Of course I do. Why?"

He pushed a strand of hair from my face and sighed. "I saw Katherine tonight."

"Oh," I said, wondering where this was going. "What happened?"

After a pause, he replied, "She came to the boarding house, she tried pretending to be Elena again but...I was ready this time."

"That's good..."

"We talked," he continued, "And then she kissed me...and I kissed her back."

I suddenly felt like a rock had planted itself in my stomach, feeling heavy. I'd kissed Damon the same night he had kissed another girl, Katherine of all people, oh god.

"I said to her...everything would be forgotten, forgiven, and we could leave together, right there and then, and start over," he continued, each word feeling like a knife twisting in a wound. "But she said no, that it was Stefan...always Stefan, never me. And that...all these years I worked to save her, that nobody ever really cared about me...and then I thought of you."

"But..." I said, unable to look him in the eye. "You were going to leave? Just like that?"

"...yes."

Hearing that confession hurt, but I guess I was glad he was telling me the truth.

"But - "

Damon was cut off by the sound of the door opening.

And in walked a sleepy Kieron, stuffed toy in his hands.

He rubbed his eyes sleepily, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the dark.

"Skye?" he said.

"Hey, buddy," I said, breaking away from Damon to go over and kneel beside Kieron. "What's up?"

"I...had a bad dream."

"Aw, are you okay?"

He shrugged, indicating that it was probably bad.

"Can you tell me about it?"

"Dad was...dead. And we were so sad, and I missed him and wished he was back, but then he did but was different, like a zombie," he sniffed. "It was scary."

"I bet," I agreed, brushing his hair down. "Aw, c'mere."

I pulled him into a tight hug, figuring that today with Tyler's dad's funeral it must have had some impact on my little brother. He was still so young... I hear him gasp though, and know he's spotted Damon, and actually registered his presence.

"What's he doing here?" Kieron asks, pulling away.

I glance back at Damon, seeing him still standing where I left him, looking downcast.

"You remember Damon, right?" I said to Kieron, who nodded. "He's not doing so well right now and needed a friend...which is why he's here. Do you remember how brave he was that night he saved you?" He nodded again. "Well, do you think you can be brave tonight? Because he needs help right now..."

Kieron nodded, "I think so..."

"You can always go to Mom and Dad for backup as well," I smiled, earning a smile back from him. "Just...don't tell them we have a guest."

"You got it," he says, nodding his head. Before leaving though, he walks up to Damon and gives him a hug.

I worry about him for a moment though, but then Damon reaches down and ruffles his hair gently. Afterwards, my little brother leaves, closing the door quietly behind him, looking a little bit braver than when he had first walked in.

I sighed, getting to my feet again and turning to face Damon, who refused to look at me. Walking over to him, I place a hand on his cheek, trying to ignore the butterfly feeling in my chest when he leans into it, turning him to look at me.

"Do you wanna stay over?" I ask. He nods in response. "Okay, I'm gonna take my makeup off and then I'll be right back, okay?"

I grab a set of pyjamas from my drawer before heading to the bathroom to change and remove my makeup, brush my teeth too. All the things you're supposed to do before you go to bed.

I swiftly head back to my room, closing my door behind me and turning to see if Damon had actually stayed. Knowing him, in this state, he could have disappeared.

But no, there he was sitting on the edge of my bed, staring off into space. He didn't leave, I'm glad.

I walk over to him, kneeling down in front of him and beginning to untie his boots.

"There's no way I'm having your dirty shoes on my bedsheets," I tell him lightly, hoping to spark some joking manor back in him.

Nothing.

I let him take his shoes off, shoving them under my bed, and help him slip out of his leather jacket, hanging it at the bottom of the bed.

I slip in under the covers, holding them up for him to slip under too, and so there we were, lying side by side. The two of us were facing each other, not really looking at the other person but also not ignoring them either. It felt like we still had a conversation to end.

"Are you disappointed?" Damon asks, so suddenly I'm cut off guard for a moment.

And I don't know what it is he wants to hear, but the truth is probably the one at the top of the list.

"Yes," I admit quietly.

He lets out a shaky sigh, his warm breath hitting my cheeks. "I'm sorry..."

"I understand..." I say, placing my hand on his cheek gently. "You have been loving the same woman for almost 150 years, I can't expect you to get over that in the span of a few weeks."

"Still I'm...I'm sorry," Damon says, his voice breaking slightly.

With my running my hand through his hair, he closes his eyes.

And I finally admit it.

"You know I care about you, Damon," I say shakily, finally admitting to him what both of us have probably known for so long, "I like you, and I bet I could fall in love with you given the chance...but I don't want to be her back-up if things don't work out."

"You're not anyone's back-up, Skye," he says, opening his eyes. Even in the dark, they seem to shine. "You're an amazing person, and I should start treating you like it...I'm never going to do something like that to you again, I promise."

I smiled, unable to keep looking at him, not sure what he means by that mini-declaration exactly. "It's late, we should go to sleep..."

With the lights already off, all we had to do was say a quick good night to each other and close our eyes.

Except it wasn't that easy.

Because do I want to fall asleep facing him, what if I make a dumb face while I'm asleep? So, I turn my back to him. But then what if he thinks I'm turning away from him because I'm mad or hate him? So, I turn and lie on my back with a sigh, knowing this is the sleeping position I struggle to fall asleep in the most.

I feel an arm snake around me, pulling me by the middle into Damon's side, making me wrap an arm around his shoulder as his head settles beside mine, resting on my chest. I curl my fingers through his hair, gently playing with it as Damon wraps another arm behind my head, creating a sort of pillow for my head.

"Comfy?" he asks.

"Yeah," I say, quite surprised actually.

"Good."

And in no time at all, for the first time since the fire, I feel myself happily drift off to sleep...

* * *

_My first memory was when I was probably about 4 years old, and I was being introduced to my new baby brother._

_Mama looked exhausted but still somehow seemed to glow with delight as she held onto a bundle in her arms. My father had a hand on my shoulder as he led me over to the bed, lifting me up and sitting me on the bed beside my mother._

_She smiled warmly at me, brushing a finger over the baby's forehead. "James...I'd like you to meet your baby brother..."_

_"He looks weird," I said, leaning over and poking his cheek._

_They had laughed, so I smiled and tilted my head as I looked down at my new brother. _

_The two of us grew up happily, helping to look after more and more of our siblings, helping with the running of the farm our parents owned._

_It was a happy childhood, we were pretty carefree, not the wealthiest but we never went hungry, and our parents loved us._

_I remember making a tree swing with my brother, wanting to surprise the rest of our family. I'd given him a boost up, and he managed to tie the rope securely around the branch, only to then find he couldn't get down. I had to get our father to bring out the ladder which he was not happy about._

_The rest of our siblings were already playing on the swing, our brother angry now that he was still stuck._

_Most of our childhood was spent like that. We were mostly homeschooled as well, with the occasional trip to Sunday school._

_But then they started recruiting._

_And with me being the eldest, I stepped forward. Thankfully the rest of my siblings were too young but..._

_Saying goodbye to everyone was hard, but I'd see them after the war was over._

_Or so I thought..._

_After the medical assessment, I was lead out to join the rest of the men, all getting lined up and handed a uniform that looked to be in their general size._

_We were all nervously standing around, the atmosphere quite tense as we waited for what we were going to be told to do._

_"Alright, listen up!" the general yelled, ending any half conversations that were going on. "Take a good look at the man standing across from you, gents. You're going to be seeing a lot of each other. That is the man you will be assigned to train and bunk with, so get along, the only way you get paired with someone new is if one of you gets killed."_

_And so introductions were due as those around me began to shake hands with the person in front of them. I looked forward at who I was partnered with. Early twenties at most, black hair, blue eyes, and a friendly smile._

_"Damon Salvatore," he says, extending a hand forward._

_I shake his hand, introducing myself, "James Jacobson, my friends call me Jim."_

_"Nice to meet you, Jimmy," Damon says._

_I feel myself smile, not bothering to correct him, something telling me that it wouldn't make a difference anyway._

_And so I was dubbed as Jimmy by just about everyone in our camp._

_The first night where we set up our camp with a smaller group, we got to know each other, and I found out he came from a very different background from my own, and while also the eldest brother only had one other sibling._

_And for a moment, as he spoke of his life, I felt like I could see it through his eyes..._

_The house he grew up in..._

_His mother's death..._

_His younger brother, sweet Stefan..._

_His father, a man I hoped to never meet..._

_He leads a very different life to mine is what I realised that first night. But he never treated me with anything less than respect._

_Training over the next few weeks was tough, but the first battle we had was tougher..._

_The first time I killed a man, I threw up afterwards. The action itself felt wrong, but I did not run away. I couldn't. I would have been caught and then shot by my own leader. And so I stayed, firing shots and hoping to deter them from moving forward and not having to take another life._

_The camp was quiet that night._

_We had lost a good few men that day, men who we had got to know quite well over the last few weeks._

_A man who had played the harmonica most nights before bed was one of the unlucky few, and the silence that rang through the camp was loud without its presence._

_A lot of us turned in early, not many were hungry. There were a few who were, of course, celebrating their victory and drinking and cheering, but they were few and far between and all in their own small circles._

_I turned to bed that night but couldn't sleep, wondering what it all was that we were fighting for, whether the seemingly senseless violence was all worth it, the lives all these men._

_Eventually, I did manage to fall asleep, feeling myself jerk awake at some points in fright, or hearing Damon do the same. I'm pretty sure I heard a few people crying around the fire that night._

_With the exhausting training still in place, I didn't have much time to think about my philosophical ideas and my morals, but there was one day where we got some downtime..._

_"Wake up," I heard, to which I groan in response. "Idiot, come on, you're going to be late, again!"_

_And so I open my eyes only to find myself staring at Damon who was standing over my bed, already dressed for the day._

_I get up out of the cot, looking down at myself and the bruises I had acquired from the training day before on my arms and legs._

_"Hurry up," Damon says as I slowly get ready._

_"You know," I say, shoving my foot into my shoes. "This is supposed to be our day of rest."_

_"You'll rest when you're dead," Damon replies, holding on a beaten up soccer ball. "Now, move it!" And he throws it straight at my chest._

_With an 'oof' I fall back and watch as Damon rushes out the tent, having a headstart before I take chase after him._

_I joined the others for a game, the group cheering as I finally arrived. I wasn't known to be on time. The teams were set already, and so no time was wasted as kickoff began._

_Kicking a ball back and forth, I laugh as I'm able to evade the others, even spinning around one of them on my way to the makeshift goals we made with our jackets. The pain from yesterday's training is long forgotten as I manage to shoot and score, getting tackled by my teammates who mess my hair up, although I didn't mind too much._

_"Nice one, you big idiot," Damon says with a smile, clapping me on the shoulder as he ran by._

_"Salvatore!" a man calls, halting our game. Damon straightens up and walks over to our higher-up. He gets handed an envelope. And all we hear is, "Congratulations, Lieutenant." He'd done it, the first one of us to get a promotion!_

_That night there was a celebration of sorts between a good few of us, all getting perhaps a little too drunk for the day we had ahead of us tomorrow..._

_Yeah, we definitely regretted it the next day._

_Another small battle later, and we were given an extra day of rest to recover. We hadn't lost too many on our side, with us outnumbering them by quite a large number, but a few were badly injured and being sent home._

_I almost envied them._

_I tried not to think about it though as I got changed._

_"__What did you say this game was again?" Damon asked, shrugging off his top as we changed out of uniform for the day._

_"Football," I replied, throwing off mine and grabbing another top quickly. "I'm not sure of the exact rules, but we'll figure it out in no time, I bet."_

_"Didn't think I hit you that hard during training," he said cockily, pointing to my chest when I gave him a confused look._

_"Oh," I said, realising what he's looking at. The circular mark found on the side of my chest makes an appearance. "Nah, you didn't. It's a birthmark."_

_Damon makes a face as we grab anything else we'll need to go have a game. "Weird looking birthmark."_

_"At least I can hide it, you can't hide that ugly mug of a face of yours!" I laughed, fending myself off as he goes to hit me playfully._

_He manages to get me in a headlock, ruffling my hair up in the process. "You can't talk to me like that anymore, show some respect to your lieutenant!"_

_I continued to laugh, pushing him back, "It hasn't even been a day yet and the power has gone to your head, what has the army come to!"_

_Football was a new game, and only two of us in the group knew how to properly play, so most of the day was spent tackling each other into the mud and laughing, nobody really bothering to keep score._

_It was a good day, a good last day..._

_The next morning when I woke up, something felt off. I put it off to what it was we were going to do today, always dreading the day of a fight._

_Damon and I got up and ready in companionable silence, getting our uniforms on before heading out the tent together to get breakfast. Damon places my hat on my head, ruffling my hair up in the process._

_Breakfast was light, I'd learned after the first time not to indulge too much._

_The calm before the storm was always the worst part..._

_And then all hell broke loose._

_I wasn't prepared._

_A couple of shots runs through and I see my hat goes flying off my head. I stare towards the other side where for a moment it's all a blur and I feel myself get tackled to the side. The two of us hit the ground with a thud as the dust of dirt and smoke appears where I just was._

_"Get moving, idiot!" Damon yells, still laying on top of me. He quickly gets up, dragging me up with him._

_"Damon?" I say, my voice coming out rougher from just being tackled._

_He turns to face me, and his face falls, any remnants of anger leaving his body completely. _

_I look down and see blood. And more blood. And more. And I don't know where the wound came from but surely one person can't have this much blood in them. _

_I start falling backwards, getting caught at the last second before I smack my head on the concrete behind me._

_There's yelling, and the fighting continues, gunshots still being heard in the background. But the sky is so clear, so blue. Hands are pressed tightly over my chest, making it hard to breathe. And I look up in Damon's eyes and smile, because his eyes are somehow brighter than the sky, angry-looking tears threatening to escape._

_"Don't you dare, Jimmy!"_

_I choke and turn my head to the side, blood trickling out the side of my mouth._

_"Damon..."_

_"No," he says, shaking his head, pressing harder on my chest. "Don't talk, it's almost over, we've almost won. We're going to get you the help you need...and you'll be fine."_

_"Please," I say, feeling my vision starting to go. "Tell my mama...let her know..."_

_And then the world goes blank..._

_..._

_..._

_..._

_..._

_..._

_Damon attended my funeral and did more for my family than I ever asked of him._

_When I asked him to tell my mother what had happened, I meant perhaps a letter, hardly an in-person discussion but...I'm glad he did._

_He got along with my siblings well enough, helping my brother in particular through the funeral._

_I'm glad he was there for them._

_After he left my town though, he headed home, where we got to see Stefan again, his little brother who had grown up while he had been away._

_And he met a beautiful woman who introduced him to a whole new world..._

_It wasn't long until he met a fate similar to mine, except he had a little extra something in his system that brought him back. _

_A whole new world opened up to him that night._

_Suddenly, it's like everything is in fast mode._

_The years pass by one after another, the clothes and hairstyles changing, the technology, the houses, the roads...him._

_The people he meets, from other vampires who help train him into a killing machine, to the people he kills, from witches and those with connections to Katherine, all in an attempt to find out how to get her out of the tomb._

_The years slow down at one point...and it gets dark..._

_A cell._

_One other man, another vampire._

_And then torture._

_What must have been years upon years of torture, finally ended with another fire...and the loss of a friend..._

_More time passes by, and then there are scenes I start to recognise that are more up to date..._

_Our first meeting in this life-time, the second, the parts in between when we weren't together, all the way up until these last few days..._

_The time where Katherine pretended to be Elena and kiss Damon, how he stepped back from her._

_To tonight, where Katherine kissed him, no pretence, and he kissed her back._

_The rejection, the drinking...and us, tonight. Our kiss._

_To us closing our eyes and falling asleep in each other's arms..._

* * *

I woke with a gasp. So did Damon.

For a moment I stare at the ceiling, feeling tears in my eyes.

I turn and look down at Damon who sits up to look at me.

Eyebrows furrowed, he asked, "Did you just - "

"Yup," I nodded, not knowing what exactly it was we just experienced.

"What the hell..." Damon muttered, turning his head to the side.

I let out a sob as I take everything in.

"Oh my god," I cried, covering my mouth. "You..."

"Don't..."

"You were tortured," I said, feeling like the world was closing in on me.

"Skye, it's late," he said, avoiding eye contact, "Let's talk about this tomorrow."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't..."

"I'm so sorry, I never should have asked all those dumbass questions and just - "

"You didn't know," Damon said, laying back down beside me.

"Still, I'm from one of those founding families, I can't imagine what you must have thought..." I said, turning to face him. "It shouldn't have happened to you. And I'm sorry if I ever made you feel uncomfortable..."

Damon finally looks at me again, placing a hand on the back of my head, pulling me into his chest. I wrap one arm around Damon's waist, feeling his arms around me holding me tight to his chest. I close my eyes as he places a kiss to the top of my head,

"We'll talk about it in the morning," he says, his voice muffled in my hair. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," I agree, closing my eyes again, wondering what the hell just happened...

There's a very steady beat, lighter than a regular heartbeat, coming from Damon's chest. And that's all it takes to lull me back to sleep, although one thought goes through my mind, even now...

What the hell did we just go through?

* * *

**Wordcount: 4,908  
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**:))) Sooooo, what did you think? Please let me know! I am veryyy nervous about this chapter sooooo~~~~**

_Thank you for leaving your cheeky wee reviews_

**AndTheSaintsAreAllMadeOfGold - We have gently kicked off Season 2! Finally! Only took us almost 30 chapters haha. Thanks for sticking with me through this story for this long already, and I hope you enjoy all the shennanigans I have planned for Season 2, Skye style! There's going to be...perhaps a few situations you wouldn't expect so early on in the series :))) and that's all I'll say on that! The drama, ahhh! It's gonna be exciting**

**flawsome4ever - thank you so much! that's so sweet of you to say, I hope you stick around and get to see everything I have planned for this story. It's gonna be wild haha**


	29. Chapter 29 - Fairground Fights

**Another day, another chapter! Wow, it's suddenly December, that's weird. Anyway, enjoy this cheeky wee update! And let me know what you think!**

* * *

A night of dreamless sleep is not something I'm used to these days, along with waking up on my own. Usually, I'm either rudely woken up by my alarm or mother, or I'm woken up from a nightmare.

This morning though was different.

I woke up content, happy. There was a weight on my chest, but it wasn't uncomfortable, far from it actually.

My eyes opened and I noticed that it was already daytime, though I couldn't tell exactly what time of day. Though, with how loud it was downstairs, definitely later than I usually sleep in for.

The dark head of hair laying his head on my chest brought me back to the present, the hair tickling my face. I brought a hand up to brush it back, continuing the motion as I remembered last night, what we had done, what had then happened...

James Jacobson, a past life of mine...I could remember it all as if it were yesterday, my brothers and sisters, my mother and father. Our home, our life.

I could remember the time I spent with Damon in that life, we were friends, as close as two could get in the short time we spent in the army together.

To be honest, remembering one of my many lives wasn't the weirdest thing that happened that night, the weirdest thing probably being that I got to see Damon's entire life, all the way up until last night.

What a life, an amazing yet tragic life.

I stopped brushing my hand through his hair for a moment, remembering some of the more...horrific moments...

And then I heard footsteps coming up the stairs, my mom's footsteps to be more precise.

Oh no...

"Damon," I said shaking and trying to move him. "Get up."

He lets out a groan and somehow manages to wrap his arms around me tighter, eyes still closed.

No, no, no!

God, there's gonna be no excuse for this, once she sees this I'm never gonna be free.

I'm done for, I'm dead!

Just as my mom reached the top of the staircase, and I'm wondering if a silent prayer would do me any good, I heard Kieron's padded feet rushing from his room. "Can I wake up Skye?"

A Christmas miracle!

Mom sighs, "Fine, make sure she gets up though, it's already past noon."

Noon? Yikes, I am late.

The sound of her walking away and down the stairs is heard and I let out a breath I didn't realise I was holding.

"See?" Damon says, his breath hitting the side of my face, "Nothing to worry about."

I rolled my eyes, "Do you wanna get up now?"

"Not really."

"Wasn't really a question."

"Shouldn't have phrased it like one then."

"Well, I'm getting up," I say, trying to sit up and finding it in fact quite difficult. Goddamnit. New tactic, I try moving Damon by the shoulder so I can slip out from underneath but no, that doesn't seem to work either. Just as I turn onto my side, halfway free, the arm around my waist pulls me back to chest with the problem child behind me. "Come on, Damon. Let me go."

Damon sighs in content, and I can practically feel him smiling in the back of my head. "I have not idea what you're talking about."

"Damon."

It's at that moment when Kieron peaks his head in through my door and closes it behind him, hopping onto the bed and landing on Damon's side, causing him to groan in momentary pain.

"Skye," Kieron said, leaning over our dark-haired guest. "Mom says it's time to get up. It's already past noon."

"Yeah buddy, I heard," I replied, looking back and glancing at Damon who seemed quite happy in this moment to be ignoring the obvious hints and requests asked of him. "Thanks for stepping in and saving our butts Kieron."

"You'll help me steal that giant teddy at the fair?"

"Only if Tyler agrees."

"Yay!" Kieron cheered, jumping off the bed. Despite not knowing whether Tyler would agree to help us steal a giant teddy bear or not, Kieron had a certain influence over the boy which meant that well, I guess I was going to steal a giant teddy bear today.

Well, I would if a certain someone would get their butt up!

Even after Kieron left, Damon refused to immediately get up and therefore let me go.

"You're gonna have to get up at some point," I shrugged, trying to annoy him now by preventing him from getting too comfy.

"Not necessarily," he said, completely unbothered by my occasional squirming. "I could keep this up for at least a week..."

"I am not staying in bed for a week."

"...maybe even a month."

"No way, Salvatore," I said, trying to pry his damn hands off. "No way would we be able to nothing but sleep for a month."

"Who said that's all we'd be doing?"

I took in a deep breath to calm my nerves, ignoring the blush on my cheeks as finally Damon let me go and I got out of bed quickly, turning back and seeing that smug look on his face.

I pointed at him for a moment before deciding no, it wasn't worth it.

Although...Damon with bedhead isn't something I expected to ever see, to ever get the chance to enjoy.

My smiling must have drawn his attention to it as that smug look on his face disappeared real quick and his hand practically smacked his head, trying to brush it down.

"I'll be back in a minute," I tell him, quickly grabbing some clothes and heading to the bathroom to wash up and change.

I've been gone maybe 10 minutes before I get back into my room, only to find half of my drawers opened up and Damon currently standing over my drawer full of underwear.

"Damon," I hissed, quickly closing the door behind me and walking over to him, snatching my clothes out of his hands and slamming the drawer shut after flinging them back in.

"Who did you think you would be wearing those for?" he asked, adding a little eyebrow wiggle to boot.

"What do you think you're doing?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Well," he said, actually sounding like he was going to give me a proper explanation. "You left me for so long on my own that I got bored and so I started exploring."

I deadpanned, "You were just saying how you could have stayed in bed for a month."

"Ah, but that's with you there," he grinned, taking a step forward. "Without you there, well, what's the point?"

Alright, Skye, play this cool, it's just a bit of flirting, a bit of joking, nothing to overthink.

Right, well, why am I overthinking it then?

Shaking my head, I close all the other drawers that he had opened up before. "Listen..."

Damon groans.

I gave him a look, "What now?"

"Every time someone begins a sentence with 'listen...' it's never a good thing," Damon explained, and I guess I have to agree with him there.

I nod my head, "Fair point, but just hear me out. Last night..."

"Our magical kiss?" Damon interrupted, again, taking that moment to stand and trapped me between him and the chest of drawers. "Want to recreate it?"

"As tempting as that offer is," I say, placing a hand on his chest, "No." He groans again, head falling forward. "Because we need to talk about the other thing that happened last night..."

The silence was deafening.

"Do we have to?" he asks quietly.

"Yeah," I reply, shrugging my shoulders. "Sooner we have it sooner we can forget about it, right?"

"Right," Damon reluctantly agreed, "So...where do you want to start? Jimmy?"

I perked up, "Yeah?" My eyes widened. "That was...oh no."

He snorted, "Did you just..."

"No!"

"Respond to the name - "

"Shut up!" I groaned, rolling my head back. I won't live that down. "Okay, okay, so...I saw my entire life as James Jacobson, and then I saw your life..."

Damon sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I was hoping you only saw Jimmy's part..."

"I'm sorry...I feel like this whole thing has been a total invasion of your privacy..."

"Yeah, don't feel so mad me looking through your drawers now, huh?"

I smiled, happy we could still joke, even about something like this. I crossed my arms over my chest then, realising something quite important... "You lied to me, you _did_ know a British person."

Damon rolled his eyes, "Really? That's the first thing you bring up? Not my body count, sexual or otherwise, not all the horrible things I've done or that have been done to me, not the everything I've seen over the years, no, no, you focus on the one British person I ever befriended."

"Hey," I say, putting my hands up in defence, "You never lied about how many people you slept with or killed, just the British thing."

"It was fun, watching many of my conquests," Damon continued, sending me a wink. "And now that you've seen the preview - "

"No, no distractions!"

"Fine!" Damon said, once again with a sassy eye roll. "So, did you ever see him in any of your dreams? My buddy Lorenzo St. John?"

"What a cool name."

"I know right?"

"But no," I say, shaking my head. "I don't recognise his voice, or him in general..."

Silence rings out, and I feel like I should say something at this moment, anything to lessen the tension or make him feel better, knowing how he felt about what happened.

"It wasn't your fault..."

"Don't." His voice is cold, much colder than I've heard it in a long time.

I swallow and with hope suggest, "He could have got out - "

"If he had gotten out of there then I would know," Damon said, stiff and avoiding eye contact. "Either he would have come to kill me for leaving him behind, or he burned to death in that fire. There are no other options."

My eyes sting. Despite never personally knowing the man, I had witnessed what and who he was to Damon. A friend, a companion, a comrade, even a brother during probably the most horrific years of his life. Lorenzo St John, Enzo, was a good man and deserved better than what he got. But it wasn't Damon's fault.

But something tells me that no matter how I would have worded this or how many times I would have said it to Damon, he never would have believed it.

And I didn't want to make Damon angry right now, not when we had to have this talk.

"You know what I'm wondering?" Damon asks, hopping back onto my now neatly made bed, laying back. "How did you manage to unlock all that anyway?"

I shrugged, taking a seat on the side of the bed next to him. "No idea."

"Was it because we kissed?" he wondered, sitting up he was suddenly right next to me. "Maybe we should test out that theory, what do you say?"

Shaking my head, I smile. "I say maybe it's something else and we shouldn't try and distract ourselves from the task at hand, what do you say?"

"I say you're sure making up a load of excuses to not make out with me," Damon complained, falling back onto the bed. "You didn't seem to mind so much last night..."

"Last night..." I trailed off, trying not to get too distracted. "We didn't have to worry about..."

"What?" Damon said, looking up at me, arms behind his head. "The past?"

"The past might have some significance over the future, you know."

"...you're worried."

It clicked, and it's strange but he realised it before even I did.

Nodding my head, I don't resit when Damon reaches up and pulls me into his arms. His embrace is comforting in these uncertain moments where strange, unexplainable things happen and there are no answers in sight.

My mind whirls back to what will happen if word gets out about me, my mark, Katherine seemed to wonder why I didn't keep it more well-hidden, but I mean, it's behind my neck, how often do people look at the back of people's necks? And then those thoughts go back to Lana, and her family, the first ones to attack me for something I didn't even know about.

And not even thinking about more witches who may wish to harm me, but those in my dreams who have already harmed previous lives of mine, and whether or not I would ever run into them in this life. I mean, Jimmy never met any of them. Maybe we'll get lucky.

"Hey," Damon said, bringing me out of my thoughts, "We're gonna work through this together, okay?"

I nod my head, feeling slightly better knowing I had someone on my side who knew about all this. I mean, aside from Tyler of course. Well, he's actually behind now on the updated information.

Oh yeah, I'm supposed to be meeting him with Kieron...soon.

Whoops.

* * *

It was a little difficult to part ways with Damon, he made some very convincing arguments but then even he agreed that he should leave after being reminded he had a meeting with Mrs Lockwood who was acting as Mayor after Tyler's dad's death.

And so I managed to grab a quick lunch before heading out with Kieron and making our way to the fair. Can't conduct a heist on an empty stomach now, can we?

"I'll meet up with you later," Mason said to Tyler, giving Kieron a ruffle on the head as he walked by us.

As he walked away, I looked down at Kieron and gave him the nod, the nod being the signal, the signal being for asking Tyler to help us with our heist as soon as any authoritative figures were out of hearing.

Not that Mason would be much of a threat, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

Kieron, of course, put on the charm, pulling off his best puppy dog eyes of the season. "Tyler, will you help us steal the giant teddy bear, please?"

Tyler shrugged. "Sure."

Well, that was easy.

My mom was coming to pick up Kieron in an hour so he and a couple of his friends from school could go hang out, so we had some extra time to kill to get a sugar rush from the cotton candy, have a ride on the teacups that we definitely spun a bit too quickly for others' liking, and come up with a game plan

Of course, we couldn't just straight up jump over and steal it from behind the counter, we were gonna have to play a game or two first.

And then we would jump the barrier and steal it.

As you can expect, our plan didn't exactly go off without anything going wrong.

"Run, Eagle 1!"

"Don't look back, Baby Bird!

Well, nothing really went right, to be honest.

But we got the giant bear! So it's a win!

"And what are you going to tell Mom when she gets here?" I ask, crouching in front of Kieron who currently holds the teddy bear that's practically the same size as him.

"The stuff on that side of the fair is boring, I wanna see what's over there," Kieron replies, repeating what we told him word for word.

"Good lad," Tyler said, patting his shoulder as we looked around for my mom to appear.

After she did appear though we, of course, got a couple of photos together before being free. Finally, Tyler and I could go on all the big kid rides that Kieron was a little too short for.

And we could also try out the big kid games.

This could have been my opportunity to catch Tyler up on everything that happened last night, but no. We need a distraction. A day of normality. After his dad's funeral, and whatever the hell I have unlocked within my subconscious, I think we deserve that.

Yeah, give me some normal high school drama please, none of this vampire nonsense!

"Step right up! Step right up!" Daniel, a guy from my drama class, called out, really selling it to the crowd. "Who here dares take on our leading champion?!"

Tyler and I share a deadpanned look at who was currently the winner of the arm wrestle competition, Alex, looking far too cocky for my liking.

"Kick his ass?"

"You know it."

"Tyler wants a go!" I called up to Daniel, refusing to even look at Alex.

Alex of all people snorts, still thinking that he's going to win. All that's gonna change real soon...

"Got yourself a new boy toy, Skye?" Alex said, leaning back in his seat. The comment didn't bother me, he was clearly still upset over our failed date. "Thought you were into vag? Or did Lana put you off?" Okay, that comment kind of bothered me.

I glared at him, feeling someone gripping my shoulder, effectively making sure I don't try to start a fight I might not be able to win.

"To be honest, maybe she was put off by you, she did disappear right after you two got together, right?"

"Enough of the domestic drama, please!" Daniel calls from beside me, pushing me behind him and towards Tyler. "Now, let's get ready, place your bets!"

I turn away as Alex leans back further in his seat, talking to a couple of his friends who start flashing their cash around.

While he's distracted, Daniel puts a hand on Tyler's shoulder and leans down, quietly saying to him, "Beat his ass for me, sweetie."

"You got it," agreed Tyler, rolling his sleeves up.

The bell goes off, and for a moment their hands are locked and neither of them moves, but I can tell that one of them was trying a lot harder than the other.

"Is that all you got?" Tyler asks cockily before slamming his hand down, easily winning the match and being met with a cheering crowd.

Alex sulks off with his buddies and I wrap my arms around Tyler's neck laughing.

Daniel, with a wide grin on his face, turns to a newer crowd approaching, "Anyone wish to try and beat our newest champion?!"

* * *

"Go on Tyler! You've got this!" I cheered as he took on Chad from the football team.

Chad put up a good fight, not exactly fragile, but the slam of hands on the table indicates that Tyler had won again.

I patted Chad on the shoulder as he gets up, "Better luck next time, Chad, you done good though!"

And then Mason steps up to the plate.

And absolutely crushes Tyler.

"Alright," Tyler said, taking his defeat in stride, getting up from his seat, "He's champ, who wants a go?"

"Stefan wants a go!" a voice I recognise calls from the side. Damon, pointing at a Stefan who looks like he most certainly does not want a go.

Stefan though, ever the good sport and seeing all the expectant faces, smiles. "Yeah, sure, let's have a go." I wave across at Damon as Stefan walks up and takes a seat across from Mason, getting a cheeky wave back.

I pat Stefan's shoulders and move his hair out of his face. "Right Stef, do your best!"

"Thanks, Skye," he says, turning to face Mason and grabs his hand. "My brother thinks I can beat you..."

"Yeah?" Mason says cockily, glancing at Damon. "Well, your brother is wrong."

Tyler and I exchange looks, our eyebrows raising into our hair as we wait with bated breath for the bell to go, signalling for them to begin.

"Go Stefan, woo!" Damon cheers from the sidelines in a tone of voice that was clearly sarcastic but only if you knew him, making me smile.

The bell goes off, and moments later Mason wins again!

I mean, I knew he would, no way did Stefan want to 1 - expose himself as being freakishly strong and 2 - sit as the champ and wait for someone to beat him who would never show up.

I give Tyler a pat on the shoulder before following Stefan who walks back to Damon, not looking very happy.

"You didn't even try," Damon hissed, definitely not too happy at his brother.

"Actually," Stefan said, rubbing his wrist, "I did."

I blinked in shock.

Well, that wasn't what I was expecting to hear.

"What is up with that family?" Damon asked, frustrated. "They're definitely not human but they're not vampires either."

Stefan snapped his fingers in realisation. "Ninja turtles."

I snorted.

Damon deadpans, glances at me before turning back to his brother. "...you're not funny."

"Actually, I think he's very funny," I say in Stefan's defence.

"Oh really?"

"Aw, thank you, Skye."

"Come on people," Damon says, snapping his fingers in front of our faces. "Any other suggestions?"

"Zombies? Werewolves!" Stefan continues.

Damon shakes his head. "No comedic timing at all."

"He doesn't like it when this happens to him, does he?" I say, nudging Stefan.

"No, he doesn't," Stefan agrees.

In some sassy form of frustration, Damon begins walking off, making Stefan and I follow to see what he was gonna do.

We head further into the school, and he scratches his head, coming to a stop.

"Why are you worried about the Lockwoods anyway?" I asked them.

"He doesn't trust the uncle," Stefan briefly explains.

"Mason?" I say, raising an eyebrow. "You're not serious, right? He's pretty much harmless."

"We'll see," Damon says, and that look on his face kind of worries me.

"Let it go, Damon..." Stefan sighs.

"There's no such thing as combat turtles - "

"Uh, ninja turtles..."

"Get it right, gosh."

" - and I'm going to get to the bottom of it," Damon says, turning to one of the handymen from the fairground, fixing one of the fuse boxes.

And then he goes and compels this innocent man.

This complete and utter stranger.

To start a fistfight with my best friend.

For whatever reason.

I gape as I watch the compelled man walk away, not evening having a chance to say anything.

I whirl around on Damon, whose eyes suddenly widen as he takes a step back. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Relax - "

"_Relax_?"

"Uh," Stefan says, taking a few steps back. "I'm just gonna...yeah..." And he turned around and left

Damon takes in a deep breath, looking like he also wanted to turn around and leave. "I promise, nothing serious is going to happen to him, I just need to see what the uncle will do when he realises his nephew is in danger."

"That nephew happens to be my best friend, Damon," I say angrily, "And that uncle is called Mason, who is here supporting his mourning family. Could you maybe have gone about this a bit better?"

Damon's face falls, but I don't give him a chance to reply, saying I'll see him later and going to warn Tyler to not start a fight, no matter how much this guy will push his buttons.

But as I head back to the arm wrestling station, I find that he and Mason have moved on.

And I've got bigger fish to fry, in the form of one Elena Gilbert, who has been standing in for Caroline during these trying times, looking none too happy.

Uh oh...

"Did you really fucking steal one of the giant prizes? Really Skye? Really?"

Uh oh, indeed.

This night just got longer...

* * *

After giving Elena some money for the damn bear, and apologising to her for causing more stress and trouble, I go back on my mission to find Tyler. I asked Daniel, who was still at the arm wrestling station if he had seen where they had gone, and he said that he thought he saw them going to the car park, probably heading home or to the Grill.

And so I make my way to the car park, only to find that the man who had been tasked with starting a fight with Tyler was currently getting fed on by a vampire.

A blonde vampire.

She comes up for air for a moment, the blood trailing from the now dead man's neck.

"Caroline," I gasped, seeing the face of the vampire revealed.

How...?

No, Damon's blood in her system, but she was fine, she was safe in the hospital, what happened?

Memories from our childhood seemed to flash in my mind, watching the blood dripping down her mouth, her eyes...terrifying.

This person looked very different to the Caroline I had grown up with, the little girl with blonde pigtails in her hair and who cried when her mom left her on her own on the first day of school.

Looking at her now, the blood of an innocent man on her hands, you wouldn't think they were the same person.

But despite everything, she was still that same girl now, scared out of her mind of the unknown.

"Skye?" Caroline says, her face shifting back to normal, tears forming in her eyes. "I-I..." She looks down at the now dead man lying at her feet.

"It's okay," I reassure her, trying not to think about the body, focusing on calming down the clearly brand new vampire. I slowly approach her, placing my hands gently on her forearms. "You're okay, Care. Everything is going to be fine."

I don't think properly, I pull her into my arms. It probably wasn't the smartest move, on my part.

Only when I realise that having my neck so close to a new vampire, and am able to easily pull myself away do I feel some sort of weight lift off me, some gut feeling in me just knowing that she was going to be absolutely fine.

"Look," I say, taking out my phone, "Sit down, I'm gonna call Damon..."

Even though I was still kind of mad at him for the stunt he pulled, still not sure whether Tyler and Mason were okay, I could put it to the side for now, for Caroline's sake.

"Don't bother," Damon calls, holding a wooden stake in his hands as he turns the corner. "I'm already here."

Glancing at the stake in his hand I subtly step closer to Caroline, who flinches at the sight of the weapon designed to kill vampires.

Damon glances between me, Caroline, and the stake and his eyes widen.

And suddenly he's tackled to the ground by Stefan, the pair of them going down with a thud.

"Damon, no!" Elena calls out, off by just a moment.

On the ground, groaning, Damon shoves Stefan off of him. "Get off me! I wasn't going to hurt her, this was for if I saw Katherine!" We all breathe a sigh of relief just as he gets to his feet. "No faith from you people at all huh? Sake man, I'm gonna get a damn shovel. Get this over with, god..."

Damon walks away in a huff, grumbling to himself, a scene I may have found mildly amusing if not for the scene before us.

Despite everything though, the tension begins to fade away.

Until...

"Caroline?"

There, standing by the open door was a star-struck Bonnie, looking between our small group, the body on the ground and the blood covering Caroline's face.

"Bonnie..." Caroline whimpers, tears streaming down her face.

"No, you're not, you can't be..." Bonnie seems to mutter to herself, stepping forward and grasping Caroline's wrist.

The look of concern leaves her face as she suddenly turns cold.

"Bonnie?" Caroline repeats, shaking as Bonnie let's go and does possibly the worst thing she could have done in this situation, and walks away. "Bonnie?"

No response. It's as if she didn't even hear her.

"Caroline, come on," Stefan said, moving over to help take her arm and lead her instead. "Let's get you cleaned up."

Caroline's sobbing breaks my heart as Stefan helps her along, making sure she doesn't have a chance to look at the body on the ground.

"What the _hell_ Bonnie?!" I yell, whirling round at her as soon as the door closes behind Stefan and Caroline.

"Skye," Elena says in a warning tone, "Not now."

"No," I reply, feeling myself about to go into a fit of rage, "Now is the time. Our friend is going through the worst night of her life and her friend shrugs her off like she's some fuckin' stranger! What the hell?!"

Bonnie shakes her head, also looking as if she was about to start yelling.

"Come on," Damon called, appearing back with a shovel in hand. "We've got a body to bury."

"You," Bonnie said, raising a hand and causing Damon to cry out in pain, dropping to the ground, clutching his head. "I told you what would happen if anyone else got hurt..."

"Hey!" I yelled, rushing over to Damon's side.

"It wasn't me," Damon groaned, clutching his head.

"Bonnie, it really wasn't his fault," Elena said, trying to be the diplomat in this situation.

"Stop it!" I yelled, glaring at Bonnie only to freeze when suddenly light appears in our dark corner of the car park.

Fire.

It quickly moves towards us and I scream, scurrying back from it only to witness it surround Damon...

It's like it sent me straight back to that night.

Only this time the fire has caught him, and he's crying out in pain, and I'm frozen, unable to do anything.

Think Skye, think! Nearest water source? Nearest fire extinguisher?

God, there's no time, no!

And suddenly, the fire was gone.

And I felt like I could breathe.

I quickly move over to check on him, feeling tears of anger and frustration brimming in my eyes.

I completely ignore the discussion between Bonnie and Elena, focusing instead on the fact Damon was alive, breathing, healing.

He was warm, his clothes were slightly burned around the edges, but he was okay.

He was okay.

But not because of me, I done nothing, I froze up...I failed him.

"I'm sorry," I whisper, my hand on the side of his head.

Damon doesn't say anything, just lays there taking in deep breaths, his hand pressing against mine. He looked exhausted, and a guilty feeling seemed to make its new home in the pit of my stomach. Rightfully so...

* * *

It seems like I'm incapable of having one night free from the supernatural drama...

Not only has my relationship with Bonnie somehow gotten worse, but Tyler isn't replying to my calls or texts which is a tad worrying, and - the big one - Caroline has become a vampire.

Tomorrow we're meeting up to hopefully get her a ring, and make sure she's okay. That is if Bonnie is willing to make it. Who knows what will happen there.

I sighed, closing my eyes and trying to ignore my anger as I was trying to get to sleep.

But then I would think about tonight, and then get reminded of the fire and just...I don't think I can do it.

Sighing, I sit up, putting on some music to prepare for an all-nighter, not wanting to spend it in silence, when I hear a familiar tap on my window over the soft melody.

Similar to the previous night, I see Damon sitting on my window sill. I unlock my window, and lift it, allowing him to slip in without a word, closing it behind him without a word passing between us.

Turning to face him, it's like we can tell just by looking at each other what the other is thinking, what the other needs.

Lifting my hand, I take his in mine and pull us together, wrapping my arms around his waist, my head pressed against his chest, his arms holding me close, his head resting on top of mine. And for a while, we just stand there, holding each other. And then we begin to sway gently.

I smile as the gentle swaying turns into an impromptu dance, the pair of us moving back and forth to the beat of the music, our actions much more relaxed than when we had danced together during the Miss Mystic Falls event. Without eyes watching, I felt like I could relax and just enjoy the moment.

Smiling, I decide that this moment, no matter how sudden or strange, is going to be worth remembering. If the days or weeks that follow are anything like tonight was, then I'm going to need a reminder than there are moments of calm during the storm that make it all worth it at the end of the day.

* * *

**Wordcount: 5,625  
****Proofread?: Oh yeah!**

**Ahh! I forgot half the stuff that happens in season 2, the drama! I've found a _totally legal_ source to watch TVD on so that's good news! Bad news, I really should be focusing on uni so I might have to take a couple of weeks break, who knows?**

**I sure don't lmao**

**Anyway! Little request? This story has almost reached 100 cheeky wee reviews, would it be possible to maybe *eye emoji* get to that milestone?**

**Yes, I had to type the emoji I wanted. Don't judge too much. Or do! Judge me through your reviews lmao**

_Replying to your cheeky wee reviews_

**flawsome4ever - aw, thank you so much, and for reviewing! So sweet! Hope the wait was worth it ^.^**

**PrincessMagic - yeaahhh, I really said let's go full wild last chapter ahaha, maybe a little more tame this chapter, who knows? Thank you so much for your continued reviews! I really appreciate it!**

**Guest M - Hearing that you bingeread my story makes me so happy like? Wow! My story? My story is worth staying up super late to read for? So sweet! And haha than you! Glad to know my authors note get even a glance! Thank you so much for leaving such a lovely cheeky wee review, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and what I've got planned for!**

**WickedlyMinx - You have got it absolutely right! **_In case anyone else was wondering, Damon and Jimmy (Skye's previous life) were just friends, and he was male yes. Skye's lives are not limited to gender or sexuality, it just so happens that in her current life she is female, presents as such as is also bisexual._ **I hope this clears any questions up, and sorry if I confused you somewhat!**


	30. Chapter 30 - Duke University

**30 Chapters? That's so many, so wack wow. I know, I know, I'm always shocked at these little achievements, but the fact I haven't dropped this story yet is quite surprising considering the Everything that's going on**

**Anyway, enjoy and let me know what you think!**

* * *

You know, something I never expected after letting Damon sleep over that one time was that it would...continue to happen. It's not like I had no say in it at all, I was happy enough to share my space, and it wasn't _every_ night I snuck him in, but I just never expected him to be this affectionate.

Even when we were out and about, it was the little things I started to notice more often. The casual hand-holding, joking hip bumps, amused glances when in the middle of a group discussion which neither of us had a clue was going on.

It seemed to be very different from the Damon I first met all them months ago, but then again, looking back on our first interactions this was pretty tame. Either way, I liked it, this sweet side of Damon really was something else, and I felt almost selfish taking it all in.

Keyword being almost, of course.

My dreams and nightmares had come to a halt as well, it was nice being able to go to sleep without worrying about uncovering some memory or dreaming of some horror you've gone through. A cuddle buddy that keeps away the bad vibes? What more could you want?

It'd been a few while now since the fair, thankfully my mom never found out about the heist, and I managed to convince Tyler to help me pay for half of the bear which was a lot more expensive than I expected it to be. It currently sat in Kieron's room, at the end of his bed.

But that night at the fair made me realise something...

"Damon," I said one day, sitting on the edge of my bed, watching him fix his hair. "Can you do something for me?"

"Yeah?" he said, moving his fringe back from one place to the next and then back to its original position once more. "What is it?"

I unravel the bracelet on my wrist, placing it on the bedside table. The action causes Damon to turn around in confusion. "I need you to compel me."

Yeah, I'd had enough of being afraid of fire. Especially if it means being unable to do anything while someone I care about is in danger. This might not be the best way to go about it long term, but we'll deal with that hurdle when we get to it. For now, I just want to know that I wouldn't have this barrier surrounding me anymore.

Plus, I trusted Damon, although he didn't seem to think that was a good thing.

"Hey, I could have compelled you to do anything, you know."

"Yeah? Like what."

"Well...like...to get me a snack?"

"How diabolical of you."

Tyler seemed freaked out after the fair as well, although for an entirely different reason. His uncle had apparently displayed very clear signs of being supernatural, glowing fancy eyes alongside super strength? Oh yeah, no way to avoid that.

He was now freaking out about the whole thing being hereditary because of the whole Gilbert device affecting him and his dad. Mason apparently wouldn't talk about what it was that seemed to affect their family, being more closed off than he'd ever been before.

Tyler wasn't the only one worrying about this either, Damon was too.

And well...I may have managed to finally get them to sit down and talk to each other properly one day, and it went...well?

I don't think I'd ever been as nervous sitting in the Grill as I had been that day, waiting for Tyler to get here.

"Stop fidgeting," Damon told me, flattening my hands gently onto the table.

"Promise you'll be nice?" I said, probably for at least the fifth time.

He had rolled his eyes. "I'm not nice."

"Please?"

"No promises."

Tyler showed up right on time, and I watched nervously as the pair shook hands, seeming to size the other up. This was one of the reasons we did this at the Grill, less chance of a fistfight with an audience on-looking. At least I hoped that was the case.

We ordered some small portions of Grill food and got down to business.

I explained to Damon why I told Tyler everything, and then explained to Tyler that Damon was concerned about his uncle.

The conversation got...a little tense when it brought the topic of family into it...

"You're not gonna kill him, right?" Tyler asked, rightfully concerned.

"Of course not," I confirmed.

"Well..."

"No, Damon!"

It took a while to get Damon to agree not to do anything that could bring harm to Mason or Tyler, a very awkward conversation considering Tyler was sitting right there. He only agreed to it if he got the condition that he was allowed to retaliate if anything was done to him first.

While Tyler was happy enough to agree to that condition, I sure as hell wasn't, knowing Damon...

"No killing!"

"What if he has a stake to my heart, Skye? What do I do then, huh, just lay there and take it?"

"You probably would have done something to provoke him anyway."

"Oi!"

Overall though, the little group meetup was a success in my eyes, no fights and a lot of questions answered. We also came up with a gameplan of sorts.

Since Mason was obviously hiding something, Tyler would do his best to try and figure out what it was from the inside, while Damon, Elena, Alaric and I were going to go on a bit of a road trip to uncover some information. The only one who didn't know the plan yet was Alaric, but he would find out soon enough.

Meanwhile, Stefan was going to be on vampire sitting duty with Caroline.

Bonnie had finally agreed to make Caroline a ring, so she'll be able to go out into the sun again soon enough.

Caroline had been handling all this...better than anyone could have expected, let's be honest. After the incident at the fair, there had been no more vampire-related deaths, no more out of control situations, and she had managed to keep things hidden from her mom, one of the very people on the council. The only person she was really struggling with was Matt.

I almost feel bad for Matt, the only person at this point in our friend group out of the loop. But he had his own problems to deal with, real-life shit like paying bills while trying to get through school. He didn't need to be brought into all this supernatural drama, at least not until he had no other choice, or butted in himself.

It was definitely taking a toll on their relationship though, so Caroline had told me, hating every second of being unable to be close to him without potentially exposing herself as a vampire. Again, didn't help that he only seemed to come around during bright, sunny days.

But today was the day, the day we would get ourselves some answers from Duke University, the day Stefan would work with Caroline on 'how to be a vampire 101' and Tyler said he was sure he was on the brink of a breakthrough with Mason, werewolf being the main suspicion as of now.

So yes, I was feeling hopeful.

Damon hadn't stayed over last night, but it had thankfully been a peaceful night's rest anyway. I told my parents that we were going on a trip to Duke to find out more on Elena's biological mother and also to see whether this was where we wanted to study.

I mean, two birds one stone, right?

We were just hoping that Isobel's office of supernatural findings would have some information on what exactly Tyler was, Elena's past, a bit on Katherine, and maybe even some information on me and my mark...

It's a lot to ask for, but it's a big day, and we're here bright and early!

Knocking on the door to the Salvatore boarding house, I notice Elena's car isn't outside yet. And neither is Alaric's. Weird, I thought they would be here by now.

Opening the door stood one happy Damon Salvatore, and while that used to concern me slightly, it was something I was becoming quite used to these days.

"Morning," I grin, stepping inside and dropping my bag on the seat, ready for when we would be leaving. Noticing the silence immediately, I glance back to Damon and raise an eyebrow as he closes the door. "Where is everybody else?"

"Well," Damon said, coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist, burying his face into the side of my neck. Oh no... "I may have accidentally told you to arrive an hour early, and also the wrong place..."

And I was going to get mad at him for that - I swear I was - until he started placing soft, sweet kisses along my neck, somehow knowing exactly where to place them to make me melt right into him.

"Damon," I sighed, brushing my hand through his hair, not sure myself whether I was pulling him closer or pushing him away.

"Don't worry," Damon said quietly, hands gripping the sides of my waist. "We're not going to do anything, our first isn't going to be rushed..." I let out a breathless laugh. "No way would we be finished in under an hour."

I don't know how he managed it, but he somehow managed to make me blush even more. I gripped the back of his head then, raising his lips from my neck and bringing them to my own, feeling him smile against my lips.

In the blink of an eye, we were in the living room, parlour, Sotheby's auction, whatever. Moving so fast always filled me with excitement and the addition to feeling Damon's lips moving against mine, it was a wonder I didn't try and push for more.

We did eventually settle on the couch, my head laying on his chest, enjoying the feel of his fingers brushing through my hair.

"You know, we're gonna be late if you don't move."

"Then move me."

"Oh, you know I can't do that," Damon said, also not wanting to leave anytime soon. "I can't afford to leave another mark on you..."

Wait a minute. I opened my eyes, looking up at a very smug and happy Damon. Oh no. "Another?" I ask, exasperated, sitting up and reaching for my phone.

Damnit.

"Oh, I got you good, huh?" Damon teased, poking at the very obvious looking hickey on the side of my neck.

"This is so not fair," I huffed, getting to my feet. "How come yours disappear within five minutes but mine stay for like five days?"

"The downside of being a vampire," he sighed, but then gave me a smirk. "But it just means you have a clean canvas to work on."

I shake my head in amusement and began braiding my hair to the side so it would cover up the hickey.

We eventually arrived outside of Elena's house, the actual meeting point, right on time.

It had been a while since seeing Jenna, so it was nice having a catch-up with her. Although the knowing looks she seemed to give me and Damon weren't something I was enjoying too much.

"You know," she whispered to me as Elena and Stefan said their goodbyes as if we were leaving for months on end. "I called it. You and Damon."

I whirled round to face her, "You...what did you? No, you...didn't."

"I so did," Jenna grinned, looking very smug.

Before I could even think of anything to reply with Damon beeped the horn on Alaric's car, wanting to get on the road already.

Elena and I sat in the back while Damon took up shot-gun with Alaric. It had been a while since it was just the two of us, and honestly, it had been a little tense since Bonnie and I had gone back onto non-speaking terms.

I had considered maybe messaging Bonnie and trying to talk through everything, but every time I did I remember that she literally tried to murder Damon right in front of me, and got a whole other group of people killed. Sure, that other group of people probably weren't great, but still.

Elena, ever the peacemaker, had already tried talking to me about it but...it was too soon. Sometimes I wonder if she would have been as forgiving if Bonnie had done the same thing to Stefan and if that would have changed how she has seen the situation at all.

Trying to put the Bonnie drama to the back of my mind, we talk about all the other stuff that has happened recently, including Tyler and Caroline.

"You know, I feel bad Matt is left out."

"We're not telling him, Skye," Elena said seriously.

"I know, I know, I'm good with that," I agreed, putting my hands up in defence, "I'm just saying, it feels like that time in middle school where we all knew you had a crush on him and he had no clue!"

"Matt's the other jock, right?" Damon asked from the front.

"Right."

"Gotcha."

Elena gave me a look. I shrugged, "I stopped trying to correct him after the first month, it was getting irritating." Elena nodded her head, although that look on her face didn't leave.

Damon and I glanced at each other through the mirrors sun shield, and I wondered if she had maybe caught on. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised.

Oh yeah, we...haven't actually told anyone about...whatever this is.

That's the thing though, neither of us knows what this is so we're just enjoying the moment, having fun, and all without getting judged too harshly by friends and family!

Although, I would bet that Stefan knows, for sure. Damon out almost every night, and not having dead bodies lying around everywhere? Plus, well, despite trying to be subtle it's a little difficult.

If Stefan knows, then Elena probably knows too. And if Jenna also picked up on it, I'm pretty sure Alaric knows. Meaning the only people who don't know at this point are Caroline and Tyler, and they're the ones that knew everything about my feelings for him before it all.

Oops.

And, of course, my family.

Double oops.

Thing is, despite how nice he's being and how much time we've spent together, I'm not sure what to call us...what to label us...

Definitely a conversation for another time, but long car journeys are the best for uncovering things you need to think and talk about. Yeah, I'll talk to him after we're back home.

My phone pings out of the blue and I groan as I read the text.

"What is it?" Elena asks, glancing over.

"Ty is having a party at the lake today, we're gonna miss it!" I pouted, slouching in my seat.

"We're not turning this car around," Alaric says quickly in advance.

I sighed, "That's fair. Can we at least get a Mickey D's on the way back?"

"Sure," Damon said, looking out the window. "Want a toy with that too?"

Eventually, after a short nap, some carpool karaoke, and arguments about directions, we arrive at Duke University, a pleasant-looking place to study overall, but we weren't here to explore or ask about the extracurricular activities, no. We were here on a mission.

Alaric leads us towards where Isobel's office is, and I begin to wonder how weird this must be for him. He seems to be holding up okay, hopefully with Damon being his buddy and all will look out for him...

* * *

The woman we're introduced to is called Vanessa and well...she is...off to say the least. I dunno, there's something that I just don't trust about her right off the bat. I mean, she's pleasant enough, offers teas and coffees and all that just...something.

Damon and I share a glance, seeming to be thinking the same thing.

Well, we've got a vampire and a vampire hunter on our side so here's hoping we're gonna be okay.

I start by browsing through the books on the shelves, not sure where else to begin. None of the titles stood out to me particularly, but then again I didn't really know what it was that I was looking for.

I pull out some random old looking book that stood out to me, flipping it open to a random page.

"Where'd she go?" Damon asks suddenly.

Not even a second later she returns, this time with a damn crossbow!

Before anyone can react, she fires at Elena. Thankfully Damon is quick but ends up taking the hit instead.

Alaric wrestles with the woman, dragging her out of the office, leaving us with Damon.

He leans over on the desk with a groan. "Get it out."

Elena hesitates, looking at where the arrow sticks out from his back.

"I can't reach it myself, so one of you has to do it," Damon says in that sweetly pissed off tone of his. "Anytime today, please!"

I grab the arrow sticking out and with one hard yank manage to pull it out. Damon groans, rolling his shoulders back before standing to his full height.

Oh no...

"I'm gonna kill her."

Know what? That's fair.

"You're not going to kill her," Elena says though, standing in front of him.

"Watch me," Damon replies, moving around her.

"Damon," I groaned, "I don't want to bury a body on this road trip."

"Skye," Elena says in disbelief. I shrug because I don't know how else to dissuade him from committing a murder. "Look, let's just find out _why_ she shot at us first."

"She was shooting at you Elena, for sure," I said, heading towards to the next room where Alaric was currently speaking with Vanessa.

And so we introduced ourselves.

"I'm Elena Gilbert, a descendant of Katherine Pierce," Elena began as if she'd practised it. "This is Damon Salvatore, a vampire who - "

"Who you should be extra nice to right now," Damon interrupted.

I waved my hand. "I'm Skye, I'm that important to this current discussion."

"We need to have everything Isobel had on Mystic Falls," Elena finished.

Now that the woman had calmed down, and we had explained to her everything that she needed to know, she was more than happy to bring in boxes with information on Katherine and Mystic Falls history.

I was looking through another random book when I overheard Elena and her talking...

"Does vervain really work?" Vanessa whispered.

"Yeah..." Elena whispered back

"Nope! Not at all!"

Well, I wasn't the only one who had overheard this conversation, clearly.

I tried not to laugh as Elena looked over and gave him a look.

"Can he hear us?" Vanessa asked quieter.

"No," Damon pretended to whisper, making me snort. "That would be creepy!"

"Can he read minds too?" she asked.

"You know," Damon said, waltzing into the room with a smirk. "If you wanna see my naked, all you have to do is ask."

And while normally I'd have laughed at that, the suddenly worried look on the woman's face made me realise that she must have been thinking something along those lines.

And I'm not one to get jealous, especially when we aren't even an official thing, but my original disliking for this woman has seemed to return tenfold.

"No," Elena dismissed, going through the boxes. "That's something he can't do."

I get up and head back into the other room, trying to find something worthwhile to look through, something maybe about old witch stories about a circular mark or...I dunno, magic birthmarks? It's a very niche thing I'm looking for, and I don't even know if I'm looking in the right place.

Already quite annoyed from before, I throw the book I'm holding back into the box with a sigh of frustrations, jumping when I feel arms circling from behind me.

"Aw, don't get jealous, Skye..."

"Damon!"

"You know I was only joking right?" he said, his breath tickling the back of my neck. "She would have had to at least pay me for that kind of service, and even then I'd have given you half the profits."

I laugh, unable to help it. It's so stupid, but it makes me laugh.

Vanessa then walks in, jumping and looking away almost guilty. "Sorry, just, we found something."

We all gather in the next room where she begins to explain that there isn't much on werewolves in Mystic Falls, there is however a curse which is relevant to the werewolf topic that we're on.

"...the curse of the sun and moon."

Something about that rang a bell, although I couldn't for the life of me tell you why.

In fact, yeah, I can probably take a good guess: birthmark, previous life, the works. Mystery solved. It's getting a little repetitive these days, you know?

"Long story short, many years ago, the Aztecs were plagued by werewolves and vampires," Vanessa explained, "They terrorised the countryside, made farming and hunting impossible, all until an Aztec shaman cursed them...making vampires slaves to the sun and werewolves servants of the moon."

I began slowly shaking my head, despite what I was hearing and the pictures shown in these old books, some part of me screamed no, in fact, if I had to describe exactly how I was feeling right now, hearing about this, it would be...amused.

As if this whole thing was...some sort of joke.

"As a result, vampires could only prowl at night and werewolves could only turn on a full moon."

However much of that is true, who knows, considering vampires can now walk in the daylight thanks to some magic. Maybe werewolves had found a similar loophole?

"Can they control the transformation?" Damon asked, a very good question considering what Mason may be.

Vanessa gave him a look, "If it were a choice, it wouldn't be called a curse."

I shrugged because she had a point, but something about all this didn't seem right. It felt like we were close but just off the mark.

"Werewolves can go after humans, but they are pretty much hardwired to go after their prey of choice."

I rolled my eyes. Wonder what that could be.

"Let me guess," Damon said, exactly as unamused. "Vampires. Thing is, if I was being hunted every full moon, I think I would have run into one by now."

"Not necessarily," Vanessa replied, "There's not many left alive, vampires hunted them to almost extinction years ago."

Elena shook her head. "Why would they do that?"

"To protect themselves," Vanessa explained, and Damon's shrug kind of confirmed that yeah, that was something a regular vampire would do. "A werewolf bite is fatal to vampires."

That...is something to keep in mind.

Tyler is no longer allowed to bite my vampire friends, not sure why he would in the first place, but I'm gonna message him after this just to be sure, in case he suddenly gets the urge to.

The four of us Mystic Fall gang all glance at each other before settling our eyes on Damon.

"Do you guys have any other questions?" Vanessa asks, then turning to me, "You seemed like you were...disagreeing with me at some points."

I grimaced, not realising she had noticed.

"Uh," I said, not sure how to respond. "I just. I don't know how to explain it but well...I don't think everything about the curse is true."

"What makes you think that?"

"Um..." Know what? It isn't worth it. "Never mind, I'm gonna go...look at some more books."

As I turn around though, I hear her gasp and the sound a chair falling backwards.

"Out."

All of us turn to look at her in confusion.

"Excuse me?" Alaric asks.

She points at me, "That mark? On your neck, is it a birthmark?"

I flinched, nodding my head. The look on her face is etched with worry and anger, so I can't blame her when she points towards the door.

"I've helped you enough, I think." Her voice is cold, her stance closed off. "I would like you all to leave now."

"Now wait for just a damn second - "

I don't wait to hear what else Damon has to say, walking over to the woman and watching her stare slightly afraid as I stand in front of her.

"What do you know?" I asked her, "About this birthmark, everything you have on it, I want to know."

"You just signed this entire town's death warrant," Vanessa practically growled at me.

"But how - "

"Take everything you think you'll need, and go. Don't come back."

"Look," I sighed, getting frustrated. "If we could just -"

"No," she said, "If you care about anyone but yourself right now, you would leave. Right now."

That's when Damon stood up, walking over. "Listen here, missy - "

I glare, turning away though as he continues his threats, opting to go wait in the car. It was already dark, I hadn't realised how long we had been here. And we still had a long drive ahead of us...

And you know, maybe they will actually be able to get some answers out of her if I'm not in the room. Clearly, I make every situation bad, putting everyone's lives in danger with just my existence! That's what Isobel believes, that's what Lana and her family believed, that's what who knows how many other supernatural people believe!

And like, who's to say they aren't right?

The car door opening stops my train of thoughts, making me look up as Elena hops in beside me, closing the door behind her.

"So," I say, genuinely curious. "Is she alive, or?"

"Damon was pretty close to killing her, but Alaric's got it handled," Elena replied, tilting her head to the side. "Are you okay?"

I shrugged, not really sure what to say to that. No, everyone who seems to have information about the general supernatural happenings seem to hate or fear me for some reason to do with this dumb birthmark.

Instead of completely breaking down though I ask her, "Did she say anything after I left?"

"It was kind of hard to get a word in with Damon yelling at her," Elena said, a faint smile on her face. "You both seem...close these days."

Again, I shrug, also not sure what to say. I smile though, not because Vanessa may or may not be in danger right now, but because at least I knew someone had my back. It's hard to tell these days, what with the drama between Bonnie and I, and what went down with Lana.

"She gave us some boxes, information about the curse, doppelgangers, and about your birthmark."

Perking up, I finally looked at her. "Really?"

Elena nodded. "I think we should take the information with a pinch of salt, remember what Bonnie's Grams said, misinformation and all that over the years..."

"What if it isn't misinformation though?" I ask, quieter than I intended to. "What if there's a good reason that they fear this mark? What if I'm actually putting you all in danger? I don't want you guys to get hurt because of me..."

"Oh, Skye..." Elena says, scootching over to the middle seat and pulling me into a hug. An Elena hug is exactly what I need right now. "Whether it's true or not, we're gonna be there for you, and we're gonna get through this together, yeah?"

I smile, gladly resting my head on her shoulder, thankfully not feeling like I was going to cry but just...drained. I feel drained, so tired of the not knowing, the wondering, just...I want some clear answers, not this rumours crap which may or may not be true.

It's not long before we spot Damon walking out of the building with a couple of boxes in his arms. He opens the boot of the car and throws them in before hopping into the front seat.

"Hey," he says, turning around to look between us. "You okay?"

I nod my head, still leaning on Elena.

"Is she alive?" Elena asks him.

He scoffs, "Unfortunately, Alaric's talking to her now. He can get the rest of the boxes. Oh yeah," He grabs a book from his jacket and hands it to Elena. The title reads _Petrova_. Hold up - "Katherine's real name was Katerina Petrova, so there's bound to be something in there that'll be useful."

I recognised that name, and for a moment it felt like I had another piece to the gigantic puzzle which was my life.

"Thanks," Elena said, looking at the worn-out book with curiosity.

It was then that we spotted Alaric and Vanessa walk out of the building. They speak for a moment before he turns around and brings the box to the back of the car.

I catch her eye though, and the glare she gives me before heading back in.

It's a long drive back, and we're all pretty tired already, so we spend most of the time listening to whatever song came on the radio. Elena was reading the book Damon handed her by the light of the streetlights until we eventually left the city behind us.

I sent a text to both Stefan and Caroline asking how today's vampire 101 lesson had gone, and I messaged Tyler about whether I missed much at the party he had today. I didn't want to outright ask him about Mason, but I'm sure he'll say if something happened.

Without waiting for a reply, I end up dozing off in the back seat, listening to but not really hearing the occasional conversation between Damon and Alaric.

And it's in that dream state that I realise something, not quite a plan, but an idea.

Stefan and Damon, god love them, are clueless when it comes to this birthmark business. Lexi may or may not have known something, obviously the brains between her and Stefan's friendship dynamic. Isobel has her opinions, and she is even less trustful than this next option...

Katherine.

She's got to know something, surely. She's older than Stefan and Damon combined, just about, with a lot more information about the supernatural drama than the boys do. Plus, we were friends in a past life, so maybe she'll be willing to help me out a bit, right?

Right?

* * *

**Wordcount: 5,186~ish  
****Proofread?: Not yet... Done!**

**If you can't tell, I love some soft fluffy Damon, and if you're not vibing with that I'm so sorry, let me have a honeymoon phase, I'll get back to shenanigans soon**

**The closer we get to Rose's episode, the more nervous I get, not gonna lie. Meeting Elijah has been a scene I've had written for _months_ and just...yeah, I feel like I'm just stalling lmao I'm sorry. **

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed!**

_Please leave a cheeky wee review like these lovely people!_

**Guest - Thanks for leaving another cheeky review! Yeah! I feel bad for making Bonnie so rude but uh...hopefully that'll change in some following chapters :)))**

**flawsome4ever - Glad you liked the last chapter! Thank you so much for reviewing! I was really nervous about that last chapter so reading that at least one person liked it makes it worth it aha!**

**PrincessMagic - Aw cheers! I'm glad Skye isn't too annoying haha, and yeah! I do quite love Stefan and Skye's subtle bullying Damon friendship. It brings me joy in these dark days lmao. Thank you again for always leaving a lovely cheeky wee review!**


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